ESPN’s Jay Williams was a guest on “The Pat Bev Podcast” and during the course of the conversation the two discussed playing against each other.
Williams said he would drop 30 on the defensive specialist. Patrick Beverley wasn’t having it and called out Williams’ 32 percent career shooting percentage.
“I would’ve loved to play against you,” said Williams. “You wouldn’t want that. I might’ve given you 30. It would’ve been a fiery 30 though. But I would’ve loved it.”
“Hell no,” Beverley replied. “I would be in drop with you. … I want you to get to the middy game and if you can beat me with 10 middys, and you can hit four threes, you deserve to have 30. But I don’t think … you shot 32 percent your first year. … I’m the weatherman. I’m just letting you know if it’s raining or not.”
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This is classic trash talk from ballers. Beverley did have it correct though. In Williams’ lone NBA season he shot 32 percent overall from the field. Although Williams blames the triangle offense for his poor numbers.
Williams was the No. 2 pick in the 2002 draft out of Duke University. He was the National Player of the Year. He was a dynamic guard but only about 6 feet 2, so he wasn’t the post player in the offense the way bigger guards like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant famously were.
Following his rookie season Williams crashed his motorcycle and suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured pelvis, a severed main nerve in his leg, and three torn ligaments in his left knee, including the ACL. His career was over, though he attempted a couple comebacks.
Since his playing career ended, Williams has been an on-air talent with ESPN. He currently co-hosts a national morning radio show with Max Kellerman and Keyshawn Johnson. He’s a frequent contributor to “Get Up” and has gotten into his share of “debates” with Stephen A. Smith on “First Take.”
Current State Of The Media Game
Williams’ contract with ESPN expires this year, and he will be a free agent, which he discussed with Beverley.
“My contract is up in three months, man,” Williams said before asking if Beverley was officially recruiting him. “This is part of the problem. You can never be your f***ing self. … I don’t care if you’re Stephen A. Smith, I don’t care if you’re my boy Alan Hahn or Max Kellerman, we can sit up here and do the tit-for-tat, play the innuendos, let me give you a tease, we can do all that. I get how the media industry work,s and I get how those are cliffhangers in which social media feeds on and articles feed on. It feels like media cannibalizing media right now, and I get how that game is played, but sometimes that game gets boring to me.”
It’s understandable that Williams feels like the game is “boring.” The point of sports media, particularly broadcast, is to entertain. These days entertain generally means hot takes and getting into spirited “debate.” It’s the same formula, rinse and repeat. That can get boring.
Still, Williams is an informed analyst and can debate. If he wants to remain in the game, he will get a contract offer from someone.
