 Williams in 1981 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1953-10-10)October 10, 1953 Mount Vernon, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 15, 2025(2025-01-15) (aged 71) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, New York) |
| College | USC (1972–1975) |
| NBA draft | 1975: 2nd round, 20th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Golden State Warriors |
| Playing career | 1975–1987 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 1 |
| Career history | |
| 1975–1977 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1977–1984 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1984–1986 | Washington Bullets |
| 1987 | Atlanta Hawks |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 14,093 (17.1 ppg) |
| Assists | 4,597 (5.6 apg) |
| Steals | 1,638 (2.0 spg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Gus Williams (October 10, 1953 – January 15, 2025) was an American professionalbasketball player in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Wizard", he was a two-timeNBA All-Star playing for theSeattle SuperSonics, winning an NBA championship in1979.
Williams playedcollege basketball for theUSC Trojans and was selected by theGolden State Warriors in the second round of the1975 NBA draft. He later played for the Warriors, SuperSonics,Washington Bullets andAtlanta Hawks.
Williams was born inMount Vernon, New York.[1] He played high school basketball at Mount Vernon High, where he was selected player of the year in 1971 by theNew York State Sportswriters Association. He playedcollege basketball at theUniversity of Southern California,[1] where both he led the Pac-8 in scoring and was named an All-American in 1975.[2]
Williams was selected in the second round of the1975 NBA draft by theGolden State Warriors and in the first round of the 1975American Basketball Association draft by theSpirits 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.[3] Williams played two seasons with the Warriors before he left as a free agent before the 1977–78 season, when he signed with theSeattle SuperSonics. There Williams was paired with renowned defenderDennis Johnson to form a dynamic backcourt duo, and helped the team to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances.[4]
While with Seattle, Williams was eventually twice selected to theNBA All-Star Game, and was anAll-NBA First Team (1982) and All-NBA Second Team (1980) selection. Williams, whose style of play earned him the nickname "the Wizard",[5] led the Sonics to the 1979 league title while averaging a team-high 28.6 points per game in the1979 NBA Finals.
While in the prime of his career, Williams stunned the basketball world when he decided to sit out the1980–81 season due to a contract dispute. He returned in1981–82 and was named theNBA Comeback Player of the Year after finishing seventh in the league in scoring with a career-high 23.4 points per game.[1][6] He played two more seasons with the Sonics after that.[1] In 1984, he was traded to theWashington Bullets forRicky Sobers and the draft rights toTim McCormick. During the1984–85 season Williams played alongside the similarly namedGuy 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's No. 1 jersey was retired by the Sonics. In 2016, Williams's jersey was retired by USC.
Williams's younger brotherRay (1954–2013) also played in the NBA.[7]
Williams suffered a stroke in February 2020 and later moved to an assisted care facility in theBaltimore area. He died from complications on January 15, 2025, at the age of 71.[8]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76 | Golden State | 77 | – | 22.4 | .428 | – | .742 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 11.7 |
| 1976–77 | Golden State | 82 | – | 23.5 | .464 | – | .747 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 9.3 |
| 1977–78 | Seattle | 79 | – | 32.6 | .451 | – | .817 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 18.1 |
| 1978–79† | Seattle | 76 | – | 29.8 | .495 | – | .775 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 19.2 |
| 1979–80 | Seattle | 82 | – | 36.2 | .482 | .194 | .788 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 22.1 |
| 1981–82 | Seattle | 80 | 80 | 36.0 | .486 | .225 | .734 | 3.1 | 6.9 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 23.4 |
| 1982–83 | Seattle | 80 | 80 | 34.5 | .477 | .047 | .751 | 2.6 | 8.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 20.0 |
| 1983–84 | Seattle | 80 | 80 | 35.2 | .458 | .160 | .750 | 2.6 | 8.4 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 18.7 |
| 1984–85 | Washington | 79 | 78 | 37.5 | .430 | .290 | .725 | 2.5 | 7.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 20.0 |
| 1985–86 | Washington | 77 | 67 | 29.7 | .428 | .259 | .734 | 2.2 | 5.9 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 13.5 |
| 1986–87 | Atlanta | 33 | 0 | 14.6 | .363 | .278 | .675 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.5 |
| Career | 825 | 385 | 31.1 | .461 | .238 | .756 | 2.7 | 5.6 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 17.1 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 1 | 20.5 | .429 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Golden State | 11 | – | 16.2 | .353 | – | .667 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6.7 |
| 1977 | Golden State | 10 | – | 18.4 | .500 | – | .857 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.8 |
| 1978 | Seattle | 22 | – | 31.9 | .477 | – | .726 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 18.3 |
| 1979† | Seattle | 17 | – | 36.4 | .476 | – | .709 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 26.7 |
| 1980 | Seattle | 15 | – | 37.6 | .514 | .200 | .721 | 4.0 | 5.6 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 23.7 |
| 1982 | Seattle | 8 | – | 39.4 | .441 | .333 | .786 | 3.3 | 8.1 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 26.3 |
| 1983 | Seattle | 2 | – | 40.5 | .553 | .000 | .867 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 32.5 |
| 1984 | Seattle | 5 | – | 43.0 | .510 | .333 | .714 | 2.4 | 11.4 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 23.4 |
| 1985 | Washington | 4 | 4 | 39.8 | .423 | .300 | .750 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 18.0 |
| 1986 | Washington | 5 | 5 | 39.8 | .481 | .100 | .778 | 2.0 | 6.6 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 18.2 |
| Career | 99 | 9 | 32.5 | .476 | .231 | .737 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 19.5 | |