Former NBA star Jayson Williams was formally sentenced to five years in jail on Tuesday for fatally shooting hired driver Costas Christofi in 2002.

The sentencing by state Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman ended an eight-year legal saga, which Williams concluded with an apology to Christofi's family.

Williams, who will be eligible for parole in 18 months, avoided a retrial on a charge of reckless manslaughter by pleading guilty last month to aggravated assault in Christofi's death.

He was taken from the court in handcuffs to begin his sentence.

In court on Tuesday, Williams apologized to Andrea Adams, Christofi's sister, saying, "There's not a day I wake up that I don't feel sorry for what I did to Mr. Christofi and that I put you through this."

On the night of the shooting, the 55-year-old Christofi had driven Williams and several of the basketball player's friends to Williams' mansion after taking them to a local restaurant.

At his plea hearing last month Williams said he gave the group a tour of the house and showed them his gun collection.

He failed to check the safety mechanism on a double-barreled shotgun, which fired and killed Christofi with a shot to the chest.

Williams, who turned 42 on Monday, played nine NBA seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets before a leg injury forced him to retire in 2000.

Williams became an NBA commentator for NBC but was suspended after Christofi's shooting.

Williams paid Christofi's family more than two million dollars in 2003 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.