Gus Williams (basketball player)

Gus Williams
Player information
Nickname	The Wizard
birthday	October 10, 1953
place of birth	Mount Vernon , United States
size	188 cm
position	Point guard
college	USC
NBA draft	1975 , 20th pick, Golden State Warriors
Clubs as active
1975–1977 Golden State Warriors 1977–1984 Seattle SuperSonics 1984–1986 Washington Bullets 1986–1987 Atlanta Hawks

Gus Williams (born October 10, 1953 in Mount Vernon , New York ) is a retired American basketball player . Between 1975 and 1987 he was active in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Career

Williams, whose one year younger brother Ray Williams was also active in the NBA, played for the USC Trojans from 1971 to 1975 . By the end of his college career, he was the player with the most assists and the third most points in the history of the Trojans . He was then selected in the 1975 NBA draft in the second round of the Golden State Warriors . Williams reached the Western Conference semifinals twice with the Warriors and was elected to the All-Rookie First Team after his first NBA season . In 1977 he moved to the Seattle SuperSonics , where he was to spend his most successful career years. Together with Dennis Johnson he formed one of the best guard duos in the league for three years . After reaching the NBA final series in 1978, the Sonics won their first and only championship in 1979 . In the final series against the Washington Bullets Williams scored the most points of his team, yet Johnson was awarded the NBA Finals MVP Award .

After another successful season, in which Williams not only moved into the Western Conference Finals , but was also elected to the All-NBA Second Team , contractual disputes between the Sonics and Williams led to the fact that this was not used for the entire 1980/81 season came. Since Johnson had also left the Sonics and his replacement Paul Westphal was out due to injury for a long time, Seattle missed the play-offs. Williams achieved this again with the Sonics in the following three years. He was still one of the leading players on his team and received two nominations for the NBA All-Star Game and the election to the All-NBA First Team in 1982. However, Seattle could not quite build on the previous successes.

In 1984 he finally moved to the Washington Bullets , for which he was active for two years. After initially not finding a new team, Williams was active as a substitute for Doc Rivers for the Atlanta Hawks for half a season in 1987 before finally ending his career. After that he seldom appeared in public. In 2004, Williams' shirt number 1 was withdrawn by the Seattle SuperSonics , which is no longer awarded by their successor organization, the Oklahoma City Thunder .

Style of play

Williams was best known for his speed. Although overall not an outstanding defensive player, he was one of the best "ball thieves" in the NBA and was described by Jack Ramsay as a "one-man fast-break ".

Individual evidence

1. ^ William Gildea: Bullets' Williams: Running in Place ( en ) In: The Washington Post . October 21, 1984. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
2. ↑ Sam Goldaper: Gus Williams Rejoins Sonics For $ 3 Million ( s ) In: The New York Times . May 29, 1981. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
3. ^ ^{A b} Roy S. Johnson: No Gus, no glory: With its star Gus Williams sidelined by a contract dispute, Seattle is sub-sonic ( en ) In: Sports Illustrated . February 2, 1981. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
4. ↑ Chris Baker: Gus Williams Adjusts to Seat on Hawk Bench ( en ) In: Los Angeles Times . January 13, 1987. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
5. ↑ Jayda Evans: Where are they now? Gus Williams ( en ) In: The Seattle Times . February 2, 2003. Retrieved September 3, 2016.

Web links

• Gus Williams - player profile on basketball-reference.com
• Gus Williams - NBA Encyclopedia