The Best of SBS: Jay BIlas
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What drives Jay Bilas's work ethic and excellence?
Kings Network.
Welcome to South Beach Sessions. I'm excited to do this, at least in part, because I love talking to people who are top of the food chain, excellent at what they do. This guy has been doing it for a lot of years. Has a great deal of craftsmanship in his work. I don't think people understand how hard it is to have your level of expertise and your stamina for what it is that you're doing. at this age. And I don't say that as an insult. I know you're a former athlete, but you turned 60 recently, and I can't believe you're still taking two flights to get to middle of America so that you can be the expert on guard play come March because you've been watching the game since January. I would think that the ESPN ethos, and thank you, Jay Billis, for joining us, would have over time made you work slightly less hard, but nothing is evident in your work that would suggest you're working any less hard.
Well, thank you. That's way too nice. I think as I've gotten older, I'm more efficient. But this job isn't nearly as hard as the job I had before this. I was a lawyer and did both broadcasting and practice law at the same time.
How did Jay's parents influence his career choices?
And so this seems like a layup relative to what I used to do.
Well, tell us about that time, because I don't think people know the entirety of the story. You were working for ESPN part-time for how long? Law is obviously a full-time job. You're a bit maniacal about your work ethic.
I would say I did that for about eight or nine years. So I was an assistant coach at Duke after I finished. I played pro basketball overseas for a few years, and Coach K offered me a job as an assistant coach. I was a graduate assistant. And about the time I was deciding whether to take it, I got admitted to law school. And it was Coach K's idea that I do both. So I went to law school while I was a graduate assistant. And after three years on his staff and in law school, I thought I'd be going to coaching and be a basketball coach. But about that time, my girlfriend, fiance, we got married. And when we were deciding what was the best thing for us, it didn't seem like coaching was going to be the best thing for our family.
What challenges did Jay face in balancing work and family?
How so?
Just the rigors of it, the stress of it, the lifestyle?
Yeah, I think so. In talking about it, if I did well, we'd probably have to move every five years for the first 15 years. And both my wife and I grew up in the same, we didn't grow up in the same area, but we grew up in one place. She grew up in Maryland, I grew up in Los Angeles. And we had stable family lives. You know, our parents weren't moving all over the place. And that's what we wanted. We wanted to pick a place and live there. And obviously, if things didn't go well, we'd move. Or if it was necessitated by employment or something else, we would do what it took. but basketball wasn't gonna give us that kind of life, we didn't think. So I had a law degree, so I went with a big law firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I thought, okay, I'm gonna be a lawyer.
And I started practicing as a first year associate, and I got a phone call
What lessons did Jay learn from his acting teacher?
from a guy named George Habel, who was the president of something called the Capital Sports Network. It was a radio network. And he wanted me to do games for the radio. And I thought, I don't know if I can do this. I can't carry a lot of practice and run around doing basketball games. But I thought about it, and I thought, you know what? If I can't handle it, I'll quit. And law is my job, but I'd like to pursue this and see what happens.
The games were more fun? A lot more fun?
Way more fun, yeah. But it was, you know, this was back in the 90s. So you didn't have the technology you do now. I'd be able to carry it off with more ease with the technology now because now my desk is everywhere I go. Before, I'd come back from a road trip and I'd have to go straight into the office from the airport and get work done.
How has Jay's wife impacted his personal and professional life?
So I was either in the office or on the road all the time.
Well, I want to talk about how this affects family, and I want to talk about a couple of different pieces of the journey because you mentioned grad assistant.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What drives Jay Bilas's work ethic and excellence?
0:04–1:36
2
How did Jay's parents influence his career choices?
1:36–2:40
3
What challenges did Jay face in balancing work and family?
2:40–3:39
4
What lessons did Jay learn from his acting teacher?
3:39–4:25
5
How has Jay's wife impacted his personal and professional life?
4:25–5:35
6
What insights does Jay share about saying no to opportunities?
5:35–6:52
7
How does Jay view the evolution of sports media coverage?
6:52–7:40
8
What reflections does Jay have on his journey and future?
7:40–1:23:45
Speakers
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