Jayson Williams
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Jayson Williams (born February 22, 1968 in Ritter, South Carolina) is an American basketball player. Standing at 6'10, he played college basketball for St. John's University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1990.
Biography
Williams was selected by the the Phoenix Suns in the first round (21st pick overall) of the 1990 NBA Draft. His draft rights were ultimately traded by the Suns to the Philadelphia 76ers for a 1993 first-round draft choice on October 28, 1990. He was then traded by the 76ers to the New Jersey Nets for conditional draft choices on October 8, 1992.
Also in 1992, Williams was accused of smashing a beer mug over a patron's head at a Chicago bar. Two years later, he was accused of firing a semiautomatic weapon into the parking lot at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
In the spring of 2004, he was tried on charges related to the killing of 55 year old limousine driver Costas Christofi at his estate in New Jersey on February 14, 2002. Christofi had been hired to drive Williams' friends from a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania charity event to the mansion, about 30 miles northwest of Trenton, New Jersey. Published reports have said Williams was playfully twirling a shotgun while giving a tour of his 30,000-square-foot home when the weapon fired, hitting Christofi. At the time of Christofi's death, Williams was working as a studio analyst for The NBA on NBC.
That April, he was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, but the jury deadlocked on a charge of reckless manslaughter, and he currently faces a retrial on that charge. He also faces trial on four charges related to his alleged attempts to cover up the circumstances of the driver's death. News of the shooting was shocking because Williams had an easygoing and humorous reputation. In 2004, Williams was acquitted on all charges and, in January, 2005, he began to play professionally again in the Continental Basketball Association.
In 2000, Williams co-wrote with journalist Steve Friedman Loose Balls: Easy Money, Hard Fouls, Cheap Laughs, and True Love in the NBA (ISBN 0767905695). In the autobiography, Williams claimed that he almost shot New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet while firing a large handgun on his skeet-shooting range.
Career Highlights
- Totaled 15 points (7-10 FG), a game-high 15 rebounds and a career-high 6 blocked shots against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 24, 1999
- Named to the 1997-98 and 1998-99 NBA All-Interview First Team
- Ranked 2nd in the NBA in 1997-98 with 13.6 rpg and led the league with 443 offensive rebounds
- Closed the 1997-98 season ranked 2nd in Nets franchise history with 1,337 offensive rebounds and 4th with 2,968 total rebounds
- Registered 4 points and 10 rebounds, in his All-Star debut, in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York
- Named NBA Player of the Week for the week ending January 25, 1998, averaging 18.3 ppg and 17.8 rpg, and shooting .604 from the field, for the 2-2 Nets
- Grabbed a career-high 26 rebounds, including 12 offensive boards, and scored 13 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 13, 1997
- Established a Nets franchise record with 17 offensive rebounds, totaling 18 points, a game-high 20 rebounds and 3 steals, against the Indiana Pacers on October 31, 1997
- Was 2nd in the NBA in 1996-97 with 13.5 rpg in 41 games in 1996-97 before torn thumb ligaments ended his season prematurely
- Posted 1996-97 season-highs of 28 points and 24 rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers on November 30, 1996
- Averaged 5.7 rpg for the Nets in 1994-95 season despite only playing 13.1 mpg