Gus Williams, the beloved Seattle SuperSonics star who led the franchise to its only NBA championship in 1979, died Wednesday at age 71.
Williams earned the nickname “The Wizard” thanks to his speed and athleticism as a dynamic scoring guard. He played six of his 12 NBA seasons with the SuperSonics, guiding the team to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances. Both of his two All-Star selections came during his time in Seattle.
A second-round draft pick out of USC, Williams started his pro career with the Golden State Warriors and finished second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting in 1976 behind Phoenix’s Alvan Adams. After two seasons with Golden State, Williams joined the Sonics in free agency and quickly became a star once coach Lenny Wilkens made him a permanent starter in the backcourt alongside Dennis Johnson. Williams finished the 1977-78 season averaging 18.1 points in 79 games and helped Seattle reach the NBA Finals, only to fall to the Washington Bullets in seven games.
The Sonics faced off against Washington in the Finals again the following season, this time beating the Bullets in five games. It remains the only championship for the franchise, which moved to Oklahoma City ahead of the 2008-09 season.
Williams finished the championship season as the SuperSonics’ leading scorer at 19.2 points per game. He saved his best for last, averaging 29.0 ppg against the Bullets in the NBA Finals. Despite his heroics, Williams was not named Finals MVP, with that honor instead going to his teammate Dennis Johnson. Four of the five starters on that championship squad and key reserve Paul Silas are now dead, with Jack Sikma, sixth man Fred Brown and Wilkens the only surviving pillars of the team.
Remembering Gus Williams (1953-2025) pic.twitter.com/UGBFH2mq7v
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) January 17, 2025
James Donaldson, one of Williams’ SuperSonics teammates beginning in 1980, started a GoFundMe account on behalf of Williams’ family to raise funds for his burial.
Williams lived in a care facility in Maryland and died five years after suffering a stroke in 2020. Donaldson wrote on GoFundMe that he remained in contact with Williams “throughout most of this terrible journey” that included Williams battling pneumonia and meningitis after his stroke.
“He has spent the last 5 years, flat on his back and bravely battling this terrible misfortune,” Donaldson wrote of Williams’ health. “He fought a good fight, but alas, it just became too much to overcome.”
Donaldson said Williams’ family asked him to set up the GoFundMe account to bring Williams’ body to his hometown of Mt. Vernon. N.Y., so he can be buried next to his brother Ray, also a former NBA player who died of prostate cancer in March of 2013. Donaldson said the Williams brothers’ 100-year-old mother and other relatives would like to be able to visit their gravesites together.
“(Williams) was gregarious, funny, always upbeat and (very) charitable with his time and money. Plus, he was always friendly with the fans and they loved him in return,” Donaldson wrote of his former teammate. “Super fast and super quick on the court. Could stop on a dime and outrun everyone out there. With a deadly jump shop to boot. Gus was one of a kind!”
Williams’ one-of-a-kind style extended off the court, too. He refused to back down in a contract dispute with Sonics management ahead of the 1980-81 campaign, ultimately sitting out the entire season. He returned the following season and averaged a career-high 23.4 points in 80 games, earning his first All-Star selection, NBA Comeback Player of the Year and first-team All-NBA honors.
Williams’ time in Seattle ended in 1984 when the SuperSonics traded him to Washington. He spent two seasons with the Bullets, followed by one with the Atlanta Hawks before retiring in 1987.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Washington Bullets alumni, Gus Williams.
Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/zhKV1lS5Pw
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 16, 2025
Williams finished his career with 14,093 points, 4,597 assists and 1,638 steals. He averaged 17.1 ppg in 825 regular-season contests and 19.5 ppg in 99 playoff appearances.
He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
(Photo: Focus on Sport / Getty Images)
