History of SC Hoop- Top Pro Careers #3, Gus Williams

#3 Gus Williams - the 20th player picked in 1975, Williams was second in Rookie of the Year voting, and was the 6th man for the defending champion Warriors, helping them to the Western Conference Finals where they were upset by Paul Westphal and the Phoenix Suns. After another season with the Warriors he was allowed to leave and sign with the Sonics, where he took off.

Nicknamed The Wizard, in his first three years with the Sonics, he averaged 20 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds a game, leading the Sonics to the NBA Finals in both his first two years, winning the title in his second year, and getting to the Western Conference Finals in his third year, losing in five games to rookie Magic Johnson and the Lakers. In the Championship year he averaged 27 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the playoffs, and against Westphal and the Suns in the WCF he scored 35 points with 6 assists in game 3, hit the go ahead shot on the road in a must win game 6, and in an epic and wild game 7 at the Kingdome he scored 29 points to Westphal's 25 in a four point Sonics win.

Williams played in the NBA Finals in back to back years against the Bullets. No other SC player has accomplished this except Bill Sharman. The 1978 Finals went 7 games, with the Bullets winning game 7 in Seattle by 6 after leading by 13 after three quarters. Williams didn't play particularly well, scoring three points less with 1 assist less in the Finals vs the other series that year, and went 4 for 12 in losing Game 7 on Seattle's home court. The Wizard would turn that all around the following year. In the 1979 Finals again against the Bullets, all the games were close, but the Sonics won the series 4-1, and William averaged 29 points, including games of 31, 32 and 36 points. He was the first SC player since Sharman to play a starring role in an NBA championship series, and no one has done it since. Williams series winning Game 5 highlights:

https://youtu.be/nqiVhChQfY8?si=jsX1qf7Bi4qcPUQi

Next year in the Western Conference Finals loss against the Magic and the Lakers, he averaged 24 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Showtime era was off and running.

That year Williams was 2nd team all NBA, and finished 8th in MVP voting, but the Sonics fell short, so made one of the biggest trades in NBA history sending Dennis Johnson to Phoenix for Paul Westphal. The thinking was they had to do something to get back on top of the Lakers, and Westphal was coming off an All NBA first Team year. Pairing him with Williams in the backcourt was a dream for SC fans, but it was never to be. First, Westphal broke his foot halfway through the season, but more importantly Williams did not play the entire year due to a contract dispute that had to deal with the changing rules of free agent compensation. Westphal's agent, who also represented Williams, said playing with Williams was the only reason Westphal agreed to the trade, but they never played a single game together. If Williams doesn't miss an entire year at age 27 coming off a dominant performance in the Finals, I think he is a lock for the HOF, and in the conversation of best Point Guards of all time.

In 81-82, Williams and the team made up, and he had his best season averaging 23 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds per game, making his first all star team, finishing 5th in the MVP voting, and making the All NBA first team along with the Doctor, Moses Malone, Larry Bird and George Gervin. Williams averaged 26 points and 8 assists in the 82 playoffs, but the team lost in the second round. The next year he was an all star again, but the team was not the same. In the best of three first round of the playoffs he scored 34 and 31 points vs Portland, but they lost both games, and he did not play for the Sonics again.

He signed with the Bullets for the following two years and averaged 20 points and 8 assists his first year there, but injuries and father time caught up with him, and he retired two years later. For SC players in the pros, he ranks 4th in games, 3rd in minutes played, 3rd in both FGA and FG, first in assists, first in steals (500+ more than 2nd), 3rd in total points, 5th in ppg, and first in assists per game. With one Championship, two Finals Appearances, three WCF appearances, a 1st Team all NBA and a 2nd Team all NBA, Williams should be on any list of players that should be in the HOF but aren't.

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History of SC Hoop- Top Pro Careers #3, Gus Williams