Ray Williams (basketball)

Ray Williams

No. 13, 25, 20, 1, 11
Point guard
Personal information
Date of birth	October 14, 1954 (1954-10-14)
Place of birth	Mount Vernon, New York
Nationality	American
High school	Mount Vernon
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
College	San Jacinto JC (1973–1975) Minnesota (1975–1977)
NBA Draft	1977 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Pro career	1977–1987
Career history
1977–1981	New York Knicks
1981–1982	New Jersey Nets
1982–1983	Kansas City Kings
1983–1984	New York Knicks
1985	Boston Celtics
1985	Atlanta Hawks
1986	San Antonio Spurs
1986–1987	New Jersey Nets
Career NBA statistics
Points	10,158 (15.5 ppg)
Assists	3,779 (5.8 apg)
Steals	1,198 (1.8 spg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Thomas Ray Williams, known as Ray Williams (born October 14, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York), is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He is 6'2½" (1.89 m) and 188 lb (85 kg) guard. He averaged 15.5 points per game and 5.8 assists per game during his NBA career, with a career-high of 20.9 points per game with the New York Knicks in 1979-80. In the same year, he averaged 5.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.

Williams, who played at the University of Minnesota and San Jacinto Junior College, was selected 10th overall in the 1977 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. After playing for six different teams, he retired in 1987. He is the younger brother of Gus Williams, who also played in the NBA.

Upon retirement, Williams struggled to find long-term work and filed for bankruptcy. He has since been critical of the NBA for not assisting its former players. After spending over a year unemployed and homeless in Pompano Beach, Florida, Williams took a position as a "Recreation Specialist" for the city of Mount Vernon, New York in November 2010.

College career

Williams went to the University of Minnesota where he played with the Golden Gophers from 1975 to 1977. During that time, he averaged 18.9 ppg and 6.6 rpg.

NBA career

Williams was selected by the New York Knicks in the first round of the 1977 NBA Draft (10th pick overall). After a quiet first season, he improved his effectiveness in the court, averaging 20.9 ppg, 5 rpg, and 6.2 apg during his third season (1979-80) and becoming the team captain during his fourth season. During his time with the Knicks, he reached the NBA Playoffs twice.

After four seasons with the Knicks, Williams signed with the New Jersey Nets on October 25, 1981, in exchange for Maurice Lucas. With the Nets, Williams averaged 20.4 ppg, 4 rpg, and 6 apg (1981-82 season). On April 17, 1982, Williams scored 52 points in a game against the Detroit Pistons, for the highest-scoring game of his career. Williams eventually helped the Nets reach the 1982 NBA Playoffs where he averaged 17 ppg, 6 rpg, and 7 apg. However, they ended up being eliminated by the Washington Bullets on the first round.

On June 29, 1982, the Nets traded Williams to the Kansas City Kings for Phil Ford. After one season, they traded him back to the New York Knicks for Billy Knight and an amount of cash. He reached the playoffs once again with the Knicks, averaging 11.2 ppg and 8 apg.

In the middle of the 1984-85 season, Williams signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics, in exchange for two future draft picks. During this year, he had the chance to play with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. With Boston, he reached the playoffs one last time. This time, the Celtics reached the Finals, but were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Before the 1985-86 season, Williams signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, with Boston receiving a future draft pick as compensation. The Clippers, however, waived him before the season began. Williams eventually signed with the Atlanta Hawks. After 19 games, he was waived by the Hawks, but signed with the San Antonio Spurs later. After 23 games, he was also waived by the Spurs and claimed by the Nets. Williams played the remainder of the season with them and remained with the team during the next season, after which he retired.

Williams ended with a career average of 15.5 ppg, 5.8 apg, and 3.6 rpg.

NBA Career Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1977–78	New York	81	...	19.1	.443	...	.705	2.6	4.5	1.3	0.2	9.3
1978–79	New York	81	...	29.3	.457	...	.802	3.6	6.2	1.6	0.2	17.3
1979–80	New York	82	...	31.5	.496	.189	.787	5.0	6.2	2.0	0.3	20.9
1980–81	New York	79	...	34.7	.461	.235	.817	4.1	5.5	2.3	0.5	19.7
1981–82	New Jersey	82	69	33.3	.462	.167	.832	4.0	6.0	2.4	0.5	20.4
1982–83	Kansas City	72	68	30.1	.392	.203	.769	4.5	7.9	1.7	0.4	15.4
1983–84	New York	76	63	29.3	.445	.309	.827	3.5	5.9	2.1	0.3	14.8
1984–85	Boston	23	5	20.0	.385	.261	.674	2.5	3.9	1.3	0.2	6.4
1985–86	Atlanta	19	12	19.3	.399	.364	.854	2.4	3.5	1.5	0.1	8.4
1985–86	San Antonio	23	9	17.3	.382	.333	.969	1.6	4.8	1.2	0.1	7.1
1985–86	New Jersey	5	0	12.6	.313	.000	.857	0.8	1.8	1.0	0.0	6.4
1986–87	New Jersey	32	14	25.0	.452	.250	.817	2.3	5.8	1.2	0.3	9.9
Career		655	240	28.2	.451	.237	.802	3.6	5.8	1.8	0.3	15.5

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1977–78	New York	6	...	23.3	.526	...	.885	2.5	5.2	...	0.0	17.5
1980–81	New York	2	...	42.0	.439	.333	.545	4.0	4.5	...	0.0	21.5
1981–82	New Jersey	2	...	38.5	.298	.400	.800	6.0	7.0	...	0.0	17.0
1983–84	New York	11	...	28.2	.354	.167	.744	3.5	8.0	...	...	11.2
1984–85	Boston	19	...	14.6	.405	.133	.960	1.9	3.2	...	...	6.3
Career		40	...	22.2	.403	.200	.811	2.8	5.1	...	...	10.6

Post-NBA career

After his retirement, Williams struggled financially eventually filing for bankruptcy in 1994, which led him to lose his home and family. Williams decided to apply early for his NBA pension of $200,000. After he received it, he moved to Florida, where he fell victim to a real estate scam which worsened his financial condition.

After that, Williams worked various jobs like groundskeeper at a golf course in Central Florida, apartment complex maintenance man, part-time girls basketball coach, and bakery worker, among others. During that time, he also received grants from the NBA Retired Players Association, totaling $10,000, which couldn't help his situation.

According to a profile published in The Boston Globe in July 2010, he was unemployed and homeless, living inside a car in Pompano Beach, Florida. Williams spent his time fishing at the Hillboro Inlet Park in Pompano Beach, to help maintain himself. In November 2010, Williams' luck began to turn around as he took a job in Mount Vernon, New York, working for the city's Recreation Department as a "Recreation Specialist." He was greatly helped by Linda Crawford, a nurse and a friend from his NBA days. Williams and Crawford married in August 2011.

External links

• NBA statistics @ basketballreference.com