One thing I picked up from this show while older was that Uncle Phil really was a father to Will. He loved him the same way he loved Carlton.
The fact that the uncle was always placed before his name made us forget that but whether it attending his basketball game, lecturing him, letting him borrow the car, it was all father like.
As a kid I always thought Uncle Phil was super strict on Will and just a mean cat but in actuality he shaped Will to become the man he should be.