From pro ball to heavy haul

Six-foot-ten Jayson Williams, who retired last year from the New Jersey Nets because of an injury, grew up hearing about trucks because his father and his uncles were truck drivers. When Williams was 14, his dad would let him drive the straightaways. “He never got in the back of the cab and went to sleep,” recalls Williams, who still makes a few hauls for the construction company owned by his 70-year-old father. “I don’t think he trusted my driving that much.”

Williams owns five bright yellow trucks, which he showed off on “MTV Cribs,” a program that visits celebrity homes. He also appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” “My favorite is my 2001 Freightliner because it has a 500-hp Cat, and I can go up a hill in the big hole (last gear).” Williams says. “That’s a good, honest day’s work, and when I finish doing that, I feel a lot better than when I grab 20 rebounds.”