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Jayson Williams’ lone All-Star appearance came in 1998, at none other than Madison Square Garden. It was a night filled with memories, but one moment stood out above all—the presence of Larry Bird. “I remember walking into the locker room and seeing Coach Bird there,” Jayson recalled. “When I first came into the league, he must’ve lit me up for 45 points. I wanted to get in the game, and he kept saying, ‘Put the rookie in! Put the f—-n’ rookie in!’ So when I got there to the locker room, he just looked at me and said, ‘Your minutes are on the board.’ That’s how you know when you’re going to play. I looked at him and said, ‘Thanks, Coach,’ and he goes, ‘You f—-n’ rookie!’ 25 years later, he still remembered!”
The Last Dance documentary gave fans a glimpse into the ‘98 All-Star Game locker room, where Michael Jordan famously spoke about a young Kobe Bryant. But as Jayson explained, there was more to the story. “Well, you know Michael is the loudest one in the room, right? He was coming in there letting us all know he wasn’t going to take the ball out because in the All-Star Game, when you take the ball out, you don’t get it back. He was just saying, ‘I want the ball and I want it every time!’ He was looking to create an enemy on the court so he could go out there and do what he’s gotta do. He’s MJ, baby! He’s the best who ever did it. You agree with that, right?”
When pressed on who would win in a one-on-one matchup, Williams didn’t hesitate. “I’m taking the killer! I’m taking MJ. Yeah, it’s going to be a close score. They’re two of the best that ever did it. But that boy is strong, you know? LeBron is STRONG. But if I say MJ, LeBron might get mad, and if I say LeBron, Michael and Charles Oakley are going to get mad. I can’t win this one! I’ve been in enough trouble in my life!”
Zach Lowe: Trivia: Steven Adams leads the league w/ a 19.3% offensive rebounding rate. Only 3 players have cracked 19% over a full season (minimum: 1000 mins), per @Basketball-Reference: Moses Malone (3X), Dennis Rodman (2X), Jayson Williams (2X). Rodman's '94-95 figure -- 20.8% -- is No. 1 all-time.
The daughters of former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams have denounced St. John's for its decision to induct their father into the school's athletics hall of fame because of accusations of neglect in their lives following his role in the 2002 fatal shooting of a limousine driver. Tryumph and Whizdom Williams wrote open letters that they planned to send to St. John's that said the school should be ashamed for his induction into the class during Saturday's homecoming weekend.
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The sisters each accused Williams of neglect and emotional and verbal abuse and said the power forward, who once signed a six-year, $86 million deal with the New Jersey Nets, failed to provide adequate financial support.
A condo fire started this morning inside a unit owned by a former NBA player. Jayson Williams, who played the for the 76'ers and the Nets, says he was not home at the time of the fire, which resulted in about 20 people having to be evacuated from the building in Delray Beach.
Former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams has experienced extreme highs and painful lows in his life. The St. John’s graduate was a 1st round pick in 1990, played in the 1998 NBA All-Star game at Madison Square Garden, and was one of the big big men in the league. But, Williams’ life changed forever in February 2002 when he shot and killed his limo driver in New Jersey. Williams ended up serving 27 months in prison and is now a recovery advocate and the founder of a recovery program called Rebound at Futures Recovery Health Care in Florida.
“I have a disease that tells me I don’t have a disease in being an alcoholic,” said Williams in an interview with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “I have to wear myself out every day. I’m doing outdoor adventure therapy at Rebound. Through the grace of God, I finally found something I’m really good at. I’m great at helping people beat their addiction. It’s a tough business, but a rewarding business. The hardest part is February 13 when Mr. Christofi accidentally lost his life by my recklessness and the stuff that I did to be a coward that day. That is the roughest thing. Alcohol and ambien was my thing. I have to work on me dealing with my past.”
Jayson Williams was a rich, famous NBA star ... but he tells TMZ Sports, his job running an addiction treatment center is the most fulfilling thing he's ever done. "This is the best job I ever had." It's no secret that Jayson -- an All-Star who played 9 years in the league for the 76ers and Nets -- struggled with alcohol abuse for years, leading to tragedy off the court ... before buddies, Curtis Martin, Charles Oakley and Chris Mullin convinced him to enter rehab back in 2016.
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A life that once glittered had turned dark and murky. Jayson Williams, the former NBA All-Star, had served time in prison for the accidental shooting death of his driver. He had one legal mess after another. And now he was sequestered at a cabin in the Catskills, drinking himself into oblivion. Then two people who cared arrived at that cabin. One was former Jets great and NFL Hall of Famer Curtis Martin, who brought kindly spiritual advice and hope. The other was ex-Knicks great Charles Oakley, who brought a baseball bat.
“Curtis showed up with, ‘What would Jesus do?’ and Charles showed up with an aluminum baseball bat,” Williams told The Post in a hour-long phone interview. “I asked Oak, ‘What were you going to do with that bat?’ He said, ‘I was going to do whatever I had to do to get you in that truck to get you down to Florida to go to treatment.’ ”
The date of that life-changing encounter was Dec. 26, 2015. On Dec. 27, 2015, Williams, who had ballooned to 316 pounds, checked into rehab in Lake Worth, Fla., and he says now he has been sober for three years and seven months. These days, the 51-year-old Williams — who made an estimated $63 million in his nine NBA seasons, according to Basketball Reference — works at his Rebound treatment program at Futures recovery center in Jupiter, Fla., enduring a schedule seemingly designed for someone who lost a big bet. Or, in this case, for a man still desperate to escape the nightmare realities of his life.
“I’m robotic. I try to do the exact same thing every day. I caused a lot of pain — to my family, to Mr. Christofi’s family, to people that love me,” said Williams, an All-Star in 1998, 21 years — or, another lifetime — ago. “And I can’t shake it. I cannot shake it. So I just work it all day long trying to help others.”
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