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Oklahoma City Thunder: 25 Best Players To Play For The Thunder

By Phil Watson

May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors in game six of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors in game six of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1981: Gus Williams #1 of the Seattle Supersonics dribbles the ball against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1981 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Williams played for the Supersonics from 1977-84. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Gus Williams
LANDOVER, MD – CIRCA 1981: Gus Williams #1 of the Seattle Supersonics dribbles the ball against the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1981 at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Williams played for the Supersonics from 1977-84. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Gus Williams /

149. Veteran free agent, Oct. 17, 1977.. PG. 1977-80, 1981-84. Gus Williams. 5. player

Gus Williams came to the Seattle SuperSonics with little fanfare, a reserve guard who signed with the club just before the season began in October 1977.

The Golden State Warriors received cash as compensation and that, it was thought, was that.

OKC_05_WILLIAMS
OKC_05_WILLIAMS /

It turns out he was a much more important acquisition than initially thought.

Given a chance to start, Williams quarterbacked the Sonics to back-to-back Finals appearances in 1978 and 1979 and earned two All-Star nods and two All-NBA selections in Seattle. He was fifth in the MVP voting in 1981-82, just after returning from a season-long contract holdout.

Williams was second in the NBA in steals in 1977-78, third in 1983-84 and fourth in 1979-80.

In the 1978 NBA Finals, he averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 72.7 percent from the free-throw line in a seven-game loss to the Washington Bullets.

The following year, Williams was a monster in the Finals, averaging 28.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals in the five-game victory over Washington, shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and 63.3 percent at the line.

On draft night in 1984, the Sonics sent Williams to Washington in exchange for Ricky Sobers and the rights to 12th overall pick Tim McCormick.

In six seasons with the Sonics, Williams averaged 20.3 points, 6.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 34.1 minutes per game, shooting .475/.153/.766.

An All-American as a senior at USC, where he averaged 21.2 points per game, Williams lasted into the second round, taken 20th overall by Golden State in the 1975 NBA Draft.

In January 1987, Williams signed as a veteran free agent with the Atlanta Hawks and retired after the 1986-87 season.

He is 26th in NBA history with 1,638 steals and 13th with an average of 2.0 steals per game.

Next: Reign Man’s Rise Was Meteoric

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