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Gus Williams, 1953-2025

Writer's picture: Jake CJake C

Seattle SuperSonic great Gus Williams has passed away at age 71.


Williams, who suffered a stroke in February of 2020, was being cared for at a long-term care facility in Baltimore, Md.


Williams was a second round pick of the Golden State Warriors (20th overall) in 1975 out of the University of Southern California. The Warriors were defending champions at the time, having swept the 60-22 Washington Bullets. Williams played two seasons with the Warriors, averaging 10.5 points on 44 percent shooting in 23 minutes per game. He averaged 11 points per game as a rookie, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting.


The bulk of Williams' career came as a Sonic, where he played from 1977-1984. He averaged 18.1 points on 45 percent shooting in his first season in Seattle, leading a group in scoring that included "Downtown" Freddie Brown (16.6 points), "The Human Eraser" Marvin Webster (14.0 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) and a 23-year-old Dennis Johnson (12.7 points), and 22-year-old Jack Sikma (10.7 points, 8.3 rebounds).


Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens took over a 5-17 team from Bob Hopkins and led the Sonics to a 42-18 record the rest of the way, as the team made the 1978 NBA Finals, losing to the Bullets in seven games. Williams averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 steals in the series on 44 percent shooting.


The next season, the Sonics won 52 games under Wilkens, again making the Finals but this time defeating the Bullets in five games. Williams, who averaged 19.2 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.1 steals on 50 percent shooting in the regular season, led Games 1, 2, 3, and 4 in scoring (32 points, 23 points, 31 points, 36 points). For the series, he averaged 29.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on 50 percent shooting. Johnson was Finals MVP.


After averaging 22.1 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.4 steals on 48 percent shooting in 1979-80 (All-NBA 2nd Team), Williams sat out the following year due to a holdout, before making his two all-star appearances in 1981-82 and 1982-83. In 1981-82, Williams posted a career-high in points (23.4) with 6.9 assists and 2.2 steals on 49 percent shooting and finished 5th in MVP voting, helping lead the Sonics along with Sikma (19.6 points, 12.7 rebounds) to a 52-win season. The team lost in the second round to George Gervin and the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals.


Williams averaged 20.0 points, 8.0 assists, and 2.3 steals on 48 percent shooting in 1982-83, leading the team in scoring just ahead of Sikma's 18.2 points and 11.4 rebounds. The Sonics won 48 games, and lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 2-0 in Round 1.


After one more season in Seattle (18.7 points, 8.4 assists, 2.4 steals on 46 percent), Williams moved to the Bullets, where he once again reached the 20-point mark (20.0 points, 43 percent) with 7.7 assists and 2.3 steals. His shot attempts decreased by five to 13.2 in his final year in Washington, and he spent the last season of his career, 1986-87, as an Atlanta Hawk.


After the 1986-87 season, Williams, age 33, retired. For his career, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.6 assists, and 2.0 steals on 46 percent shooting. He played 825 games over his 11 seasons, starting 467. From 1979-1984, he missed just six games, playing all 82 in 1979-80. In 1982, coinciding with his first all-star appearance, he was also the NBA's Comeback Player of the Year and made All-NBA 1st Team.


A native of Mount Vernon, NY (the city is also the hometown to legendary actor Denzel Washington; R&B singer Al B. Sure! was raised in Mount Vernon), Williams was the brother of NBA guard Ray Williams, the 10th overall draft choice in 1977 by the New York Knicks. Ray went on to play through the 1986-87 season, spending his career with the Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Kansas City Kings, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and San Antonio Spurs, posting career averages of 15.5 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.8 steals. Ray died in 2013 at age 58 from colon cancer. Other NBA players from Mount Vernon include Ben Gordon, Andre Drummond, Earl Tatum, Rodney McCray, Scooter McCray, and Kevin Jones.


Gus Williams was a 2nd-team All-American in 1975 at USC. His number is retired by both the Trojans (2016) and the SuperSonics (2004).


RIP, Gus Williams.





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