“Will’s Boys”: The Ultimate Guide to “The Boys” of and Associated with Professional Sports — Volume 1
Most professional athletes and those associated with professional sports seem like pretty cool dudes with which to hang out. The only problem is that the infinite number of them makes it incredibly difficult to ascertain who exactly are “the boys.”Luckily, I have developed a system to solve this problem.
I should probably first explain the origin of the phrase “the boys,” as well as the aforementioned system.
Everyone has their crew, group of friends, gang, or their “boys.” One of my closest “boys” goes by the name of William Anari, aka AnariFBaby. Being numbers 14 and 15 on the High School football team and best friends for nearly a decade, I share his passion for spots and trust his judgment. That is why he is the barometer for who is considered the “boy.” Will has the tendency to exclaim “he’s my boy,” or “that dude is my boy” while watching sporting events or broadcasts of any kind. I quickly took note of this tendency and began keeping a list of all of “Will’s boys” in the hopes that I could one day produce the most legendary party with the greatest collection of sports personalities ever assembled. This list has grown over the past 6–7 seven years, and every time I read the list I can’t help but laugh at its absurdly amazing diversity of names and personalities.
The Ultimate “Boys” party will take place under under the OTC name at an undecided venue at a time and date TBD. Instead of releasing the list all at once, I have decided to release 6–8 names per week, with weekly updates to the list (i.e. sometimes more names than others, depending on how often Will officially dubs someone his boy). With each name, I will provide a brief description about why this individual is “the boy.” I promise this list is legit, it will make you laugh and it will be one hell of a party.
For those whose names appear on this list, the order is irrelevant. All that matters is that you made this exclusive list.
*** Full Disclosure — Anarifbaby is a DIEHARD Giants, Mets, Rangers and Knicks fan.
Steven Adams
What a way to start the list. Being an OKC fan, I fully support this pick. Adams is the NBA’s “Most Interesting Man,” with his porn-star mustache and the kiwi swag. If Bert Reynolds and Khal Drogo were one person, and athletic enough to play Center in the NBA, that would be Adams. Adams isn’t the biggest Center in the league, but he plays with an unrivaled sense of intensity. Steven Adams is the quintessential boy, and the only requirement for him to come to “The Boys” party, is that he do the Haka for his entrance.
Iman Shumpert
Iman Shumpert — Shumpert is the first of many Knicks and former Knicks to make an appearance on this list. You may be thinking, why start with Shumpert? I’ll tell you why. Shumpert gets buckets, that’s all he does. I gotta respect a man who will shoot till his arms fall off, even if he hasn’t made a single one (e.g. J.R. Smith). The man’s motto is “ The goal is to win by as much as you can as much as you can,” I can’t fault him for trying to live up to his motto. Oh, right and that flat-top, CLASSIC.
Carmelo Anthony
“Because he’s boys with Lebron and I saw him play in High School. So I was like, Melo isn’t not the boy.” This is a direct quote from Anarifbaby on why Melo is the boy. I completely agree, that anyone who is boys with LBJ is automatically considered “the boy.” Oh and anyone who talks shit about one of the “boys” is certainly out, so Phil Jackson and George Karl are certainly not “boys.” All that aside, Carmelo has been one of the greatest players of our generation. While he doesn’t fill the stat sheet like he used to back in the day, there is nothing prettier than watching Melo go off for 50 on any given night when his shot gets hot.
David Lee
David Lee is the working-man’s NBA player. Lee laces up, goes to work, does his job and then goes home. A little known fact about Lee is that he was a McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk Contest Champion. Lee was selected by the Knicks in 2005 in the First Round with the 30th overall pick. During his years with the Knicks, Lee developed into a young stud, which culminated with his career year in his final year with the Knicks in 2010. He was chosen for the 2010 All-Star game and was the first Knick to do so since Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell in 2001. He also became the first player to put up 37 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1976. Yeah you read that correctly. This guy can ball, and that is why he is the boy.
Victor Oladipo
The dude can jump through the roof, he can dunk like Vince Carter back in his heyday, and he has a voice that is a mix of Fergie and Jesus. Need I say anymore? As a Thunder fan I fully endorse Victor as the “boy.”
Eli Manning
As a DIEHARD Eagles fan, it pains me to include Eli on the list and to tell you why he is the boy. I have to admit, the man gets it done when it counts; dadbod and all. The Giants always seem to limp into the playoffs and then bulldoze their way to the Superbowl, and the man under-center is the first to get the credit. While as an Eagles fan I dislike Eli, I’d take a two-time Super Bowl winning QB at the “boys” party any day.
