Rest In Power: Notable Black Folks Who We’ve Lost In 2025

January 17, 2025

Seattle Supersonics v Washington Bullets

Source: Focus On Sport / Getty

UPDATED: 9:00 AM ET., January 16th, 2025

As we’ve come to understand year after year, day after day even, death is unfortunately an inevitable part of life. Still, as much of a fact as that may be, the blow of experiencing loss never gets any easier, nor does reporting on the subject in Black culture.

Gus Williams, the “Wizard” who help lead the Seattle Supersonics to an NBA Title, died Wednesday (January 15th), years after suffering a stroke.

Williams played in the NBA from 1975 to 1987, with his most notable years being with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he was a key player in their 1979 NBA Championship win. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA First Team twice, highlighting his status as one of the top guards of his era. His quickness, scoring ability, and leadership on the court made him a standout player throughout his career.

Williams received the nickname “The Wizard” for his dazzling ball-handling and quick drives. Over his career, Williams averaged 17.1 points, 5.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game with two All-Star selections and multiple All-NBA honors.

Williams was 71 years old.