Gus Williams obit

Gus Williams, who led Sonics to NBA championship, dies at 71

 

He was not on the list.

Gus Williams, the point guard “Wizard” who helped lead the SuperSonics to their only NBA championship in 1979, died Wednesday nearly five years after suffering a stroke. He was 71.

Nicknamed “the Wizard” for his combo of speed, athleticism and scoring, Williams spent six seasons of his NBA career with the SuperSonics. He was a dynamic score-first point guard at a time that kind of player wasn’t a regularity in the professional game and evolved from being a second-round pick out of college at USC into one of the best guards of his generation.

Williams’ career ended after spending the 1986-87 season with the Atlanta Hawks and his career began as a draft pick of the Golden State Warriors. But his career will be forever defined by what he did during his time in Seattle.

Williams was selected in the second round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors and in the first round of the 1975 ABA draft by the Spirits of St. Louis. Williams signed with the Warriors for the 1975–76 season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in his first season. Williams played two seasons with the Warriors before he was allowed to leave as a free agent before the 1977–78 season, when he signed with the Seattle SuperSonics.

While with Seattle, Williams was twice selected to the NBA All-Star Game, and was an All-NBA First Team (1982) and All-NBA Second Team (1980) selection. Williams, whose style of play earned him the nickname "the Wizard", led the Sonics to the 1979 league title while averaging a team-high 28.6 points per game in the Finals.

While in the prime of his career, Williams sat out the entire 1980–81 season due to a contract dispute. He returned in 1981–82 and was named the NBA Comeback Player of the Year after finishing seventh in the league in scoring (23.4). He played three more seasons with the Sonics after that. In 1984, he signed with the Washington Bullets. During the 1984–85 season Williams played alongside the similarly named Guy Williams.

He finished his career with a 17.1 point-per-game scoring average in a career spanning 12 years from 1975 to 1987. In 2004 Williams' #1 jersey was retired by the Sonics. In 2016 Williams' jersey was retired by USC.

Williams' younger brother Ray (1954–2013) also played in the NBA.

 

Career history

1975–1977            Golden State Warriors

1977–1984            Seattle SuperSonics

1984–1986            Washington Bullets

1987    Atlanta Hawks

Career highlights and awards

NBA champion (1979)

2× NBA All-Star (1982, 1983)

All-NBA First Team (1982)

All-NBA Second Team (1980)

NBA Comeback Player of the Year (1982)

NBA All-Rookie First Team (1976)

No. 1 retired by Seattle SuperSonics

Consensus second-team All-American (1975)

First-team All-Pac-8 (1975)

No. 10 retired by USC Trojans

Second-team Parade All-American (1971)