Former NBA point guard Gus Williams, who helped bring the only championship to the SuperSonics in 1979, died Wednesday at the age of 71, according to the Seattle Times.
A cause of death was not revealed for the Mount Vernon, N.Y. native.
Williams, who earned the nickname “Wizard” for his scoring and speed, was living in a care facility in Baltimore at the time of his death following a stroke he suffered in February 2020.
Williams’ last known public appearance was at a Mariners game at T-Mobile Park, where the team honored the SuperSonics on June 1, 2019 for the 40th 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 said. “He got along with everybody. It was always fun with Gus, and a lot 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 Game and he posed for a photo with Brown and former Warriors president Rick Welts at KeyArena in Seattle.
Williams spent six seasons with the SuperSonics and the team retired his No. 1 jersey during a game against the Denver Nuggets at KeyArena on March 26, 2004.
Williams played two seasons with Golden State after the Warriors selected him in the second round, 20th overall, out of USC in the 1975 NBA draft.
The Trojans retired his No. 10 jersey in 2016.
Williams averaged 26.7 points during Seattle’s title run in 1979, and he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated that year.
Williams made waves when he sat out the entire next season due to a contract dispute with Seattle.
He returned for the 1981-82 season and averaged a career-high 23.4 points per game, en route to being named the NBA Comeback Player of the Year.
Williams was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned an All-NBA First Team selection in 1982.
