"You tripping with this one": Candace Parker's ex Shelden Williams pulls no punches in scathing words on NBA's new schedule rollout

Candace Parker’s ex-husband, Shelden Williams, joined the chorus of NBA fans voicing their displeasure with the league’s new schedule. The league revealed the full schedule for the 2025-26 season on Friday.

It includes games being aired on ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Amazon Prime. With the latest schedule comes changed timings, which have drawn mixed reactions from fans. For years, the latest NBA game has tipped off at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Starting next season, this game will be pushed back to 11 p.m. ET. Shelden Williams is one of many who are not happy with this change. Parker’s ex shared a message on his Instagram story on Saturday, expressing his frustration.

“Yea @nba you tripping with this one. It’s already hard enough to watch the late games now,” Williams said.

Shelden Williams was previously married to WNBA legend Candace Parker. The pair were together for eight years before Williams filed for divorce in 2008, citing irreconcilable differences. They have a daughter, Lailaa Nicole Williams.

Like his ex-wife, Williams also enjoyed a professional basketball career, spending six seasons in the NBA. He made 361 appearances, averaging 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. After a decorated career in college, Williams was drafted at No. 5 in 2006. He never quite lived up to his potential, spending most of his time in the league on the bench.

“Starting the games LATER will help with ratings”: Fans join Shelden Williams in criticizing the NBA’s changed tipoff time

Williams wasn’t the only one who took issue with the league’s new tipoff time. Fans also joined in, criticizing the decision with sarcastic comments about how starting games later will help with the league’s declining ratings.

“Yes, starting the games LATER will help with ratings,” one fan said.

“Ball won’t be in the air until 11:22 now,” another fan said.

“We miss you David Stern,” a fan expressed.

“They’re already losing viewers. This is an easy way to lose some more!” said one fan.

“Silver was innovative at first, now he's doing too much, just trying anything every year, something new,” one fan wrote.

Fans react to the NBA's changed tipoff time

The 2025-26 NBA season will begin on October 21 and will feature two games: Houston Rockets vs. OKC Thunder and Golden State Warriors vs. LA Lakers.

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

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Edited by Sameer Khan