“He saw himself spinning in the air” - Jay Williams had visuals of his career-ending accident beforehand

Despite lacking the imposing physical stature typical of basketball sensations, Jay Williams distinguished himself with lightning-quick agility, which caused excessive problems for defenders to contain him in the paint. Moreover, as the 2nd overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, expectations were high for the 6’2” point guard.

In his rookie campaign, Williams was far from the best player but showed glimpses of how he could transform into a powerhouse scorer. Tragically, on June 19, 2003, the guard lost control of his motorcycle and collided with a utility pole, effectively ending his professional career. Interestingly, Jay had experienced a premonition of this catastrophic event prior to its occurrence.

Williams had visuals of his accident long before its occurrence

Since his sophomore year, Jay announced his arrival on the basketball map, averaging 21.6 points on 47.3% shooting from the field and 42.7% from the 3-point line; being instrumental in leading Duke to an NCAA Championship. Williams maintained his impressive showing in his junior year as well, averaging 21.3 points per game. However, as revealed by Greg Bishop in his New York Times piece, even before suiting up for his first game in college basketball, the guard had strange visuals while sleeping in a hotel room.

"On the night before his first college basketball game - before he started for Duke at Madison Square Garden - Williams fell asleep in a hotel room," Bishop wrote . "He saw himself spinning in the air, around and around, over and over, until a red fire hydrant came into view."

Initially, the New Jersey native dismissed the unusual visuals from his dream, choosing not to dwell on them. However, in the aftermath of his accident, the significance of those premonitory images became starkly apparent as everything seemed to make more sense.

"Williams remembered little but clung to an image from the scene, his first glance sideways as he spun," Bishop added . "There it was: a red fire hydrant."

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Jay did make a living in the NBA, just not as a player

It might have been fate’s way of saying that Williams was never meant to succeed as a player. However, the former Bulls guard never lost hope and became even more determined to make a name for himself in the basketball world, even if it was behind the mic.

Starting off by covering college basketball as a journalist, Williams eventually became one of the leading faces of the ESPN network. He has regularly appeared on various talk shows to discuss current happenings and provide insights into the game.

It's safe to say that despite his career-ending motorcycle accident, Williams is a living example of how anything is achievable, especially considering his $4 million net worth.

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