Former NBA level guard Gus Williams, who helped carry the one championship to the SuperSonics in 1979, died Wednesday on the age of 71, in keeping with the Seattle Instances.
A explanation for dying was not revealed for the Mount Vernon, N.Y. native.
Williams, who earned the nickname “Wizard” for his scoring and pace, was dwelling in a care facility in Baltimore on the time of his dying following a stroke he suffered in February 2020.
Williams’ final identified public look was at a Mariners recreation at T-Cellular Park, the place the crew honored the SuperSonics on June 1, 2019 for the fortieth anniversary of their NBA championship in a pregame ceremony — which included his Seattle teammates, Dennis Awtrey, Fred Brown, Tom LaGarde, Jack Sikma, Wally Walker and coach Lenny Wilkens.
“His energy was always so positive and his sense of humor was always there,” Walker stated. “He obtained together with everyone. It was at all times enjoyable with Gus, and lots of laughs.
“He had a lot of sayings that were just funny. One of his was, ‘There were only two kinds of people, the quick and the dead.’ And of course, he was the quick. He was lightning quick and fast, both, and he was a one-man fast break. He got the ball and he weaved through traffic. He was just so fast. No one ever caught him.”
Two years prior, Williams attended the 2017 WNBA All-Star Recreation and he posed for a photograph with Brown and former Warriors president Rick Welts at KeyArena in Seattle.
Williams spent six seasons with the SuperSonics and the crew retired his No. 1 jersey throughout a recreation towards the Denver Nuggets at KeyArena on March 26, 2004.
Williams performed two seasons with Golden State after the Warriors chosen him within the second spherical, twentieth general, out of USC within the 1975 NBA draft.
The Trojans retired his No. 10 jersey in 2016.
Williams averaged 26.7 factors throughout Seattle’s title run in 1979, and he appeared on the duvet of Sports activities Illustrated that 12 months.
Williams made waves when he sat out the complete subsequent season because of a contract dispute with Seattle.
He returned for the 1981-82 season and averaged a career-high 23.4 factors per recreation, en path to being named the NBA Comeback Participant of the 12 months.
Williams was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned an All-NBA First Group choice in 1982.
