Legendary street baller Fly Williams counseled countless Brooklyn kids, spinning his wild life of drugs, disappointment and near-death experiences as a cautionary tale.
Then the flamboyant former hoopster, whose real first name is James, ignored all his own advice.
The troubled Brownsville native, 64, was busted as the kingpin of a massive drug ring that peddled 2 million vials of deadly heroin on the Brooklyn streets of his youth.
“His popularity and status in the community may have ironically helped him hide this elaborate criminal enterprise,” said Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
“He’s beloved as a local legend,” Gonzalez said Thursday. “He will now be held accountable for his actions.”
Some of the dope found its way upstate, officials said. Prosecutors say the ring put an estimated $12 million to $20 million of heroin on the street.
Arrested along with the flashy scorer for the long-defunct Spirits of St. Louis were his namesake son James Williams, 36, of East Flatbush, and his stepson Jeffrey (Doobie) Britt, 34, of Flatlands.
Authorities say Williams — his eyes heavy-lidded, his expression dazed in his latest mug shot — oversaw the entire heroin operation.
The drugs were purchased from suppliers in the Bronx, brought back to Brooklyn and resold either in bulk or individually packaged for street deals.
Fly, both his sons and co-defendants Hanziel (Johnny) Cintron and Richard (Cristiano) Rivera were all charged as major drug traffickers.
Each faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. The younger James Williams was held on $250,000 bail at his arraignment.