Jayson Williams tells stories
By Ian Levy
Jayson Williams has some stories he’d like you to hear.
You may remember Jayson Williams as a bruising big man with the New Jersey Nets of the late 1990s, one of the best offensive rebounders of his (unfortunately brief) era. Or, if you’re a little bit younger, you may remember him as the ex-NBA player who accidentally shot and killed his limo driver and served two years in prison. Now you can also remember hims as the guy with the stories.
On Tuesday, Williams appeared on the COOKIES podcast on VICE Sports, with hosts Ben Detrick and Jordan Redaelli, and eagerly shared anecdotes from his playing career. Stay clear of beverages while you’re listening because there are several potential spit-takes lurking in here.
About the one and only Michael Jordan, Williams said, “When you went out to the club, you wouldn’t sit with Michael Jordan. He would sit at a table by himself and watch you watch him. He just had that, you know, he was smart enough to keep drunk so you were tired tomorrow, and keep you away, and keep you scared, and not let you figure him out.”
“He was intimidating. I remember when we went to play him in the playoffs he parked a brand new black Ferrari, about a million dollar car, in front of the locker room. And it was just black. And he wore that black, and he was almost like Satan. He won six championships, you know he made the shot with six seconds left on the clock, he had six MVPs. What’s that, 6-6-6?”
If stories of Michael Jordan’s competitive nature aren’t for you, come for the stories of Manute Bol’s manhood and drinking habits; stay for the stories about how Charles Barkley has a hard time with technology. Williams does get serious later in the podcast talking about his own struggles, regrets, and legal challenges, which is good because you’ll need something heavy to get your mind off Manute Bol.
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