The late 1970s Seattle SuperSonics seem to me to be one of the
least appreciated great teams in NBA history. Perhaps it’s because Seattle no
longer has a team, but the Sonics took the Bullets to seven games in the 1978
NBA Finals, beat Baltimore in five for the 1979 NBA title and then gave the
emerging Showtime Lakers all they could handle in a Western Conference Finals
in 1980.
And Gus Williams was the Wizard behind it all.
Williams rarely is talked about when top point guards are
discussed, but he grades well in my system and would be several spots higher if
he hadn’t sat out the entire 1980-1981 season – when he was 27 and at the top
of his game – in a contract dispute. His two greatest seasons are the years
right before 1980-1981 and his third best season was the one after he returned.
Williams had a pretty solid run as one of the NBA’s top
players. His PER topped 18.0 every year from 1977-1978 to 1983-1984, including
four straight years above 20. He topped 8.0 in win shares from 1978-1979 to
1982-1983. His Box +/- was above 4.0 from 1978-1979 to 1981-1982 and he was
over 3.0 in VORP from 1978-1979 to 1982-1983. How he was chosen for just two
all-star games is beyond me.
He was markedly better in the playoffs. His PER topped 20.0
six times in 10 trips to the playoffs. He led the NBA in playoff win shares in
the 1978-1979 NBA title season. His Box +/- was above 4.0 five of the 10
playoff seasons. In fact, Williams also would rank higher if not for being
snubbed in the 1979 NBA Finals. Williams led the Sonics in scoring in all five
Finals games yet wasn’t chosen as the NBA Finals MVP. It wasn’t as if Williams
was a volume gunner. He shot 50 percent for the series (57-114) while averaging
29.0 points per game. Still, the MVP – and 25 points in my system – went to
Dennis Johnson (No. 94).
Williams will have staying power in the top 100. He’s just
the second – Sidney Moncrief was the first - so far out of the first 19 named to
make the top 100 in the 1-year, 5-year, 10-year and career rankings.
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Gus
Williams bio info
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Career
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1975-1987
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Games
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825
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Points
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17.1
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Rebounds
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2.7
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Assists
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5.6
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FG Pct.
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46.1%
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All-Star Games
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2
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MVPs
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0
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NBA Titles
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1
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Playoff seasons
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10
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Playoff games
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99
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Points
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19.5
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Rebounds
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3.1
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Assists
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4.7
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FG Pct.
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47.6%
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Hall of Fame
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Top 100
rankings
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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306.86
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77th
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5-year
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1,371.22
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67th
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10-year
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2,291.56
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71st
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Career
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2,356.79
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98th
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Gus
Williams at his peak
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1978-1979
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Williams
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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21.1
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23.87
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Win Shares
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8.3
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13.01
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Box +/-
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4.0
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5.65
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VORP
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3.4
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5.69
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Total Advanced Stats
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36.8
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48.22
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76.32
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Playoff PER
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23.8
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23.95
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Win Shares
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2.7
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2.36
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Box +/-
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4.6
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6.67
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VORP
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1.0
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1.11
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Total Advanced Stats
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32.1
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34.09
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94.16
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Reg. Season Win %
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65.79
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65.79
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Playoff Win %
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70.59
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70.59
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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0
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0
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Finals MVP (25 points)
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0
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0
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Total Score
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306.86
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Williams’ 10 greatest seasons
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1978-1979
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306.86
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1979-1980
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287.13
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1981-1982
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282.16
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1977-1978
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260.07
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1982-1983
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235.00
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1983-1984
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220.24
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1976-1977
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195.47
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1975-1976
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192.63
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1985-1986
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165.72
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1984-1985
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146.28
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Career
winning percentage
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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482
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343
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58.42%
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Playoffs
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52
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47
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52.53%
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Gus Williams deserves to be on your team. Good pick. But the Sonics lost 4 games to 1 to the Lakers in 1980, only winning Game 1 when Downtown Fred Brown went nuts in the second half, and Dennis Johnson deserved Finals MVP in 1979, averaging 22.6 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.2 blocks in the five games.
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