The viral video from 2024 shows a shirtless Katt Williams, the critically acclaimed comedian, sprinting from one baseline to the other inside the Memphis basketball practice facility.
Then, the camera pans to a cell phone displaying a blistering — borderline bewildering — time of 4.47 seconds.
The video (and its more than 16 million views, on X alone, to date) spread far and wide, the contents of which have been debated and dissected many times over. Was it actually Williams on the court? If so, was the time on the screen authentic?
So, we asked him. Williams, who turns 55 years old in September, is back in Memphis to play in the Danny Thomas Celebrity-Am golf tournament at Chickasaw Country Club on Aug. 13. He has made regular appearances in the Bluff
City the past few years around this time, most notably as a guest commentator for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which is being played at TPC Southwind Aug. 13-16.
Williams appeared to confirm — even if slightly indirectly — that it was, in fact, him.
"I’m great, and I’m an athlete. So I know a lot of great athletes," Williams told The Commercial Appeal, referencing Tigers basketball coach and former NBA great Penny Hardaway. "A great athlete is just a special type of person. Somebody who is supremely in charge of their focus and their dedication. They probably work harder when you’re not looking at them than they do when you are. That embodies Penny and all my athletic friends."
He indicated that his time was accurate, even if it is far from his personal best. But the funny man said there were plenty of reasons behind the relatively lackluster showing.
"Slow time. Slow time," he said. "I am 5-5, and 55. But that was somebody else’s shoes. It was a whole debacle. And, remember, I was running on the court, it was really slippery. It was not a good representation.
"But I needed to put the time out there so people understand that I’m not to be trifled with."
Hardaway was also on hand at Chickasaw Country Club for the annual event benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He chuckled and nodded when asked if he remembered the video of Williams booking it down the practice court on that day in 2024.
What did Hardaway think of Williams' display of athleticism?
"You know, I think he’s just an amazing person," Hardaway said. "When you know him and you’re around him, there’s nothing he can’t do. So when he did the video, I was like, ‘OK, he’s challenging himself in another area.’ But I thought it was pretty cool he was in our facility to show that he could run a sprint in a certain amount of seconds."
As for whether Hardaway could match or best Williams' speedy prowess: "No, I can’t. Those days are over with for me."
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Katt Williams said about sprinting video from Memphis basketball facility
