Bio

Born and raised just north of the Bronx in Mount Vernon, New York, Gus Williams crossed the country to play his college ball at USC, where his #10 is retired. Williams was selected early in the 2nd round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors, where he would spend the first two years of his career before entering free agency.

When Gus signed with the Sonics in 1977, he joined a Sonics team that featured fellow youngsters Dennis Johnson and Jack Sikma, along with veterans like Fred Brown, John Johnson, and Paul Silas. The new core experienced immediate success with Williams starting at point guard, winning the Western Conference in 1978 and the NBA title in 1979. Gus averaged almost 27 points per game during the ’79 playoff run.

Nicknamed “The Wizard” on account of his flashy passing and lightning-quick first step, Gus was the ultimate highlight reel. At 6’2” he lacked the size of backcourt mate Dennis Johnson but more than made up for it with speed and athleticism. Some actually posited that Gus’s knack for getting to the rim gave him a shot at the NBA scoring crown.

Following the 1980 season, Williams and the Sonics entered a year-long contract dispute, keeping Gus out for the entire ‘80-’81 campaign. It’s an unfortunate stain on Sonics history and corroded some of the chemistry built during the run of 3 straight Conference Finals appearances. Thankfully, Gus was back the following year and played three more successful seasons in Seattle, making the All-NBA 1st Team in 1982 along with All-Star Games in ’82 and ’83.

Gus Williams is undoubtably the greatest Sonics point guard not named Gary Payton. Always steady throughout the regular season, his ability to dial it up to 11 during the playoffs was his greatest strength. His 25.15 point per game playoff average is a franchise record; the fact that Gus maintained that mark over 6 playoff runs is astounding.

The Sonics retired Williams’ #1 in 2004.