A lot of people around here think Jason Williams came at a time when the Kings needed him. Forget that. Jason Williams stepped onto the scene at a time when the NBA needed him. Badly. The flashy rookie point guard is a staple on nightly national highlight shows. His jersey is among the top sellers at the NBA store in New York. He finished second to Toronto rookie Vince Carter on an ESPN.com poll that asked, "Who is the most exciting NBA player to watch?"

In the wake of Michael Jordan's retirement and a fan-insulting NBA lockout, Williams is a breath of fresh air.

"He's just so fun to watch," said ESPN anchor Rich Eisen. "A lot of it has to do with the fact that the NBA has been so horrid this year: 70-point games, teams struggling to score in the 60s. To have somebody so inventive, refreshing and exciting to watch, it just enhances the insane moves he makes."

Williams has become so popular, his agent can't decide who is more enamored of his client -- advertising executives or playground dwellers.

"We have kids on the playgrounds here in Virginia, and they are talking about Jason," said Williams' agent, Bill Pollak, who is working on the deal of deals for an NBA player, an agreement with Nike. "Kids all across the country want Jason Williams jerseys. He really has a high visibility on a national level, and that's unusual."

What is perhaps most surprising about Williams' nationwide popularity is his lack of exposure. The Kings have been on national television only twice, but he still finished second behind Carter in the ESPN.com poll and just ahead of Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson.

Both Carter and Williams have made their mark with eye-popping moves shown nightly on ESPN and CNN. When those kids on playgrounds across the country talk about Williams, they are usually talking about his latest highlight. Maybe he busted out his hidden-ball trick. Or maybe he crossover-faked Gary Payton out of his shorts.

Regardless, Eisen, a West Coast anchor for ESPN's "SportsCenter," said it is a nightly goal to show Williams on the show.

"I think everyone wants to see it," Eisen said.

"Everyone wants to know, 'What sick, behind the back, stutter step, high-stepping move did he do tonight?'

"And I do, too. I sit here at my desk with the ability to watch anything from 'Ally McBeal' to the Denver Nuggets. And more often than not, if the Sacramento Kings are playing, I'm going to watch them. By far, they are the most exciting team in the league, hands down. And I think Jason Williams is the prime reason for it."

Before long, a few seconds worth of Williams highlights wasn't enough. NBC came to Sacramento and spent the day with Williams for a feature. TNT took a closer look. So did ESPN, Fox, CNN/SI. HBO spent more than a week with him.

Kings media relations director Troy Hanson said for the first time in his seven years with the team, he had to put restrictions on a player's media exposure.

"It's no Mark McGwire policy, but probably about three weeks into the season, it became too much and we had to limit his availability," Hanson said. "It got to where every city we went to, writers would want a half-hour, one-on-one sit down with him. It's especially hard in this abbreviated season. Whenever we got a day off, I would say, 'Jason, go home and go to sleep,' and I'd have to turn down seven or eight requests."

As for Williams, he takes it all in stride. He accommodates anyone who wants to talk with him. The one thing he won't do for the news media is give that juicy, snappy, arrogant sound bite.

"I just go out and do my thing," he said. "That's all I can do."

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