Mariner Talk Chat Forum

Mr. Baseball and The Wizard within 24 hours.

Possibly the greatest sight as a Seattle sports fan was on 6/1/79 when the game clock hit 0:00 and Gus Williams threw the ball to the rafters in celebration of the Sonics' one NBA championship.

He was a hell of a player. I remember as a kid we got him after Golden State inexplicably let him go after two seasons. When Lenny Wilkens took over the team in 1978, he made Williams and Dennis Johnson the starting guards, put Freddie Brown and Slick Watts on the bench, and the Sonics instantly went from a 5-17 team to a championship team. I mean, INSTANTLY.

Based on performance in a Sonics' uniform, here's how I would rate him among Sonics' guards:

1) Gary Payton
2) Ray Allen
3) Lenny Wilkens
4) Gus Williams
5) Dennis Johnson
6) Dale Ellis
7) Freddie Brown
8) Nate McMillan

It's only been 45 years and only six players from that 1979 team are still alive.

My first Fav Sonic. I will never forget when he and George Gervin had an epic back and for scoring battle.....Gervin scored 27 and Gus scored 26.....in the first half...

D-train wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2025 9:38 pm

My first Fav Sonic. I will never forget when he and George Gervin had an epic back and for scoring battle.....Gervin scored 27 and Gus scored 26.....in the first half...

Payton and DJ my fav Sonics ever. Iceman my favorite NBA/ABA favorite ever. Those were the best times fur the NBA. Way better than it is right now.

This has to be the game. They both cooled off as I recall but both ended up with 33 points.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/bo ... 20SEA.html

The first games i ever watched of any professional sports team were the Sonics circa 1981 and the first professional sports athlete that really made an impression on me was Gus Williams. There really seemed to be a magical quality to him, just the way he could make layups in traffic. I don't know how many other players from the championship team were still left at that point other than Sikma, Brown and Shelton.

Sibelius Hindemith wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2025 6:24 pm

The first games i ever watched of any professional sports team were the Sonics circa 1981 and the first professional sports athlete that really made an impression on me was Gus Williams. There really seemed to be a magical quality to him, just the way he could make layups in traffic. I don't know how many other players from the championship team were still left at that point other than Sikma, Brown and Shelton.

Same. He was so good but really not a big name at all in the NBA. VERY under rated.

RIP to the Wizard. One of my favorite players growing up.

Slick Watts dead at 73