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Jay Williams: Bulls teammates smoked marijuana before games

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Jay Williams said his former Chicago Bulls teammates routinely smoked marijuana before games. (Victor Baldizon, Getty Images)

Jay Williams said his former Chicago Bulls teammates routinely smoked marijuana before games. (Victor Baldizon, Getty Images)

Former Chicago Bulls guard and current ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams told the New York Times that his Chicago Bulls teammates smoked marijuana before games during his lone NBA season in 2002-2003.

The quote, buried in a lengthy profile on the player and his return from the devastating motorcycle accident that ended his career in 2003 ran as such:

“I didn’t know how to handle it at first,” Williams said. “I didn’t know how to be around it. Guys were on the bench, trying to kick it to girls in the stands, having ball boys run over. I mean, some guys were high.”

Asked to clarify, Williams said: “There were guys smoking weed before games. Guys asking in the middle of the game, ‘Do you smell popcorn?’ ”

He noticed the nervous laughter around the kitchen table. “You think I’m playing,” Williams said.

The Bulls went 30-52 that season, finishing 6th in the then-eight team Central Division.

  • Published On Feb 10, 2013
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    PriestYoungblood 5 pts

    Really, Jay. you are from Plainfield. NJ........... Im from Newark, NJ............Do you really want them to know what you were doing when you crashed the bike?

     

    Anaximenes1 21 pts

    99.99% of nba players smoke weed--what's the big deal---they are millionaires and can buy the top quality stuff.

    JrollerThaStoner 5 pts

    i some marijuana before every game i play

    l.czolgosz66 36 pts

    WHOA! WHOA! What you would have me believe, is that members of the NBA, spoke marijuana? No sir, I refuse to accept that!

    opaque4 5 pts

    and they won anyway, flipping amazing!

    stabmasterarson21 307 pts

    Pretty sure all NBA teams have tokers.

    stabmasterarson21 307 pts

     ellisdiversified What are you guys, 13?

    CliftonMiddleton 5 pts

    Pot smoking improves your game in all sports from Chess to Bball ........ deep team work ..... as for this joker he forgot to 'Never Hip a Lame" OK ....

    Yeah I Said It So What? 19 pts

    Years ago Jay Williams was a reckless imbecile that threw away a dream life.  Today he's an attention-getting snitch who cannot realize he's irrelevant.  Man, go somewhere, smoke another blunt and shut the #ell up.   

    pm2875 7 pts

    I'm sorry. Didn't Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Lamar Odom,  Jason "White Chocolate" Williams, Bill Walton, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar among many others (not to mention Current Bull Joakim Noah) also smoke weed? How exactly did it hurt their games? If you look at the roster from that team, the  average age was 23.8 years old. This would be a bigger story if they didn't smoke weed. 

     

    Come on, Man! Look at this roster: Donyell Marshall (who always looked stoned), Jalen Rose, Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry (which should explain his eating habits), Tyson Chandler (Compton's own), Roger Mason Jr (before the dreads), Trenton Hassell, Eddie Robinson (E-Robbery), Marcus Fizer (who once got lost in the bathroom during a game, coach couldn't find him when he called him)... Seriously, the only guy that wouldn't have smoked was likely "the golden boy from Duke". 

    Ron27 6 pts

     pm2875  wow didnt know what to think of the story untill you broke down the roster. j williams may have been the only guy not getting high out of that bunch

    lennynyk 5 pts

     Ron27  pm2875

     yea except they never did it before the game and dont try to pick up girls during games. and tyson chandler (compton's own) is a hipster now...

    stabmasterarson21 307 pts

     lennynyk  Ron27  pm2875 Sure they didn't, Mr. Naive!

    marker264109 29 pts

    you gotta know Kris Humphries smoked alot of dope ... he HAD to be stoned to marry a Kardashian !

    M as in Mancy 256 pts

    Now I know that when people say Eddy Curry was flying high, they're not talking about his vertical leap...

    Sportmentary 23 pts

    I don't know what to make of the story. It wouldn't surprise me if it's true. It would explain Chicago's pathetic 30-52 record that year.

     

    http://www.sportmentary.com/2013/02/flying-north-and-flying-high.html

    dweezler 7 pts

    Jay Williams found a way to get himself back in the news for the first time since his motorcycle accident. Is it that shocking? Chris Herren admitted to scoring oxycontin from his dealer before he'd play for the Celtics. I'd rather have my bench players and a couple starters smoking weed that slamming oxy's.

    stabmasterarson21 307 pts

     dweezler Hear, hear, unfortunately about half of the US is addicted to Oxy it seems.

    JeffStivenson 13 pts

    Why, I am just shocked. NBA players smoking grass? What has this world come to?  

    JohnThomas 8 pts

    Here's another proof that smoking marijuana causes no significant harm and does not turn people into lazy, unmotivated couch potatos.

     

    Can we just go ahead and end the monstrously destructive, counter-productive, freedom-strangling fraud of marijuana prohibition?

     

    Thanks.

    caleb 20 pts

     JohnThomas I don't think I'd use the 02-03 Bulls to prove your point. They only won about 30 games that year.

    achen07 6 pts

     JohnThomas I mean c'mon it does make you lazy when you smoke.  If anything the 02' Bulls kind of prove that point.

    marker264109 29 pts

    hey mon, while you be up, toss me that remote control yah ?

    George19 6 pts

    Corie Blount was on that team (arrested for distribution in 2008).

    stabmasterarson21 307 pts

     George19 What an appropriate name, dude was smoking and dealing blunts, lol.

    JohnDonovan 5 pts

    Nice of him to throw his teammates under the bus 10 years later.  What exactly is the gain from him telling this story other than to get his name in the news again?

    achen07 6 pts

     JohnDonovan Well the thing is by saying it 10 years later, nobody cares and it's really not going to hurt anybody's reputation at this point.

    The Edge 14 pts

    ...and Joakim smokes enough for an entire team nowadays....

    Action 78 pts

    I get drug tested at least once a year, and I'd lose my job if I tested positive.  When I retire I might smoke it again.

    MuzzyLu 5 pts

    Maybe the marijuana helped them relax and play better. Great $2.99 e-book on medical marijuana: MARIJUANA - Guide to Buying, Growing, Harvesting, and Making Medical Marijuana Oil and Delicious Candies to Treat Pain and Ailments by Mary Bendis, Second Edition. This book has great recipes for easy marijuana oil, delicious Cannabis Chocolates, and tasty Dragon Teeth Mints. 

    metalhd 5 pts

    Not surprised considering that roster

    CHIPFU 7 pts

    FRED HOIBERG GETTIN BLAAAAAZED

    Sean2013 6 pts

    Then did they brought a motorcycle and run it into a tree too?

    Raj Babar 26 pts

     Sean2013 like Jayson Williams?

    dweezler 7 pts

     touseyd Here's the roster list from the 02-03 season.  Time to make assumptions.

     

    Jalen Rose,Eddie Robinson, Roger Mason, Donyell Marshall, Fred Hoiberg, Trenton Hassell, Marcus Fizer, Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Tyson Chandler, Rick Brunson, Corie Blount, Lonny Baxter, Dalibor Bagaric

    Yeah I Said It So What? 19 pts

     dweezler  touseyd 

     

    Yeah, everyone on the roster werel dopers.  Now cuse' me while I hit my blunt@

    DoinkPhillips 27 pts

    These are not airline pilots. Nobody cares. 

    Staying out all night before a game getting drunk is probably more common, and worse for performance.

    Rickapolis 757 pts

    Bulls smoked pot before ball games.

    A Chicago fire.

    Flying high over the rim.

     

    Pardon, I was feeling poetic. There will be a stink over this, I bet.

    TheAngryCowboy 13 pts

     Rickapolis 

     

    Haiku's are easy...

     

     - But often do not make sense

     

    Refrigerator.