Jay Williams Wife, Parents, Girlfriend, Height, Weight, Bio

Quick Facts

Jay Williams is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player in the NBA. He first signed with the Chicago Bulls after being drafted second overall in the 2002 NBA Draft.

Williams also played college basketball for the Duke University Blue Devils where he led the team to win the 2001 NCAA championship. He also won the 1999 Morgan Wootten Award and was named National college player of the year, as well as a two-time NABC Player of the Year.

Due to a motorcycle accident in 2003, which effectively hampered his progress as an athlete, Jay Williams retired from the game earlier than planned. However, he has been working as an analyst for ESPN and is an author of a book titled: Life Is Not an Accident: A Memoir of Reinvention. 

Jay Williams Biography 

Jason David Williams was born in Plainfield, New Jersey on September 8, 1981. He attended St. Joseph High School in Metuchen and graduated in 1999. While in high school, William was a keen athlete; he not only excelled in basketball but also played junior varsity soccer in his freshman year as well as varsity volleyball during his senior year. His other and most notable sporting interest was chess.

By the time he finished high school, “Jay Dub” as he was nicknamed, earned a 3.6 GPA with series of accolades including the New Jersey Player of the Year; a First Team All-State Player in New Jersey; a McDonald’s All-American; a USA Today first-team All-American; and a Parade All-American.

Career

Jason David Williams took up the name Jay Williams to differentiate himself from two other NBA players with the same name at the time.

His career at Duke University (1999-2002) made him a big name for the NBA draft. While in Duke, he played as a point guard with jersey number 22 and was one the few freshmen in history to averaged double figures in scoring.

In all his college basketball seasons Williams played 108 games, averaging 19.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

During his first season, he was named National Freshman of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News. The magazine, Basketball Times considered him a first-team Freshman All-American. He broke a number of Duke’s records including scoring 841 points into the second season (2000-2001) that broke a 49-year Duke record while taking the lead as all tournament scorers with a 25.7 ppg average; became the first Duke player since 1989 to lead the league in scoring with 21.6 points per game; his 132 three-point field goals was considered good for the sixth-highest total in NCAA history.

Williams simply gained wild recognition as the best college basketball player. In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious Naismith Award and Wooden Award as College Basketball’s Player of the Year, he then later graduated with a Degree in Sociology.

Jay Williams debuted as a professional basketball player after being selected second overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2002 NBA draft. That year, he played for the US national team in the FIBA World Championship.

For most of the 2002–03 NBA season, he played as a starter in the Bull’s line-up and didn’t have a good start. Yet his triple-double in a win over the New Jersy Nets was a sign of a promising future in the game.

While his future in basketball was looking up, Williams met with a motorcycle accident in Illinois on June 19, 2003. He crashed his Yamaha R6 into a streetlight at the intersection of Belmont and Honore streets in Roscoe Village neighborhood. He suffered a fractured pelvis, three dislocated ligaments in his left knee and a severed main nerve in his leg and needed physical therapy.

It would have been much worse considering he wasn’t wearing a helmet, but more than that, he was not licensed to ride the motorcycle, and his contract with the Bulls banned him from taking the joy ride.

For violating the terms of his contract with the Chicago Bulls, Williams waived a week after the accident. While the franchise was not under any legal obligation to pay him, the Bulls gave Williams $3 million which he could use to cover his rehabilitation expenses.

Meanwhile, Williams made known his intention to continue training and return to the Bulls. However, he got signed by his home state team, the New Jersey Nets on September 28, 2006, to a non-guaranteed contract, which lasted less than a month.

The baller’s last signed with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League but also got waived on December 30, 2006, due to injury. Subsequently, he announced his retirement from basketball and is now a commentator on basketball broadcasts on ESPN since 2008, as well as an author of Life Is Not An Accident.

Parents

Williams is the only son of David Williams and Althea Williams. He shares a special bond with his parents and on one of his post on Instagram during father’s day, he expressed his deep love for his father as he wrote, I love you Pop and continue to learn from you every day. He does not have any siblings.  

Girlfriend and Wife

The former NBA player cum ESPN analyst proposed to his girlfriend Nikki Bonacorsi on the eve of 2018, at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge. The engagement party was witnessed by 50 of their closest family and friends in the suite decorated with White lilies and candles. Nikki officially became his wife on May 3 and now expecting a baby girl.

Net Worth

As for how much he’s worth, Williams’ days as an NBA player and a sports analyst fetched and fetches him quite a wholesome amount of money. He currently has an estimated net worth of $4 million.

Body Measurement – Height and Weight

The former baller stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches or 1.88 m, at this height, he has a body mass of 195 lbs or 88kg. There are no details of his body stats; strength and weaknesses during his days in the NBA. Although his earlier records and achievements as an athlete gave a clear picture of one who could be matched to the likes of.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.