Gus Williams' 36 Points Push Sonics to Cusp of NBA Title (Game 4 - 1979 Finals)

[@Pineemonkeys2ndchannel]

I love KZbin Gus Williams Bullets vs SuperSonics pppped into my mind and it brought back incredible memories Gus “The Wizard” Williams played w DJ, Sikma, Johhny Johnson and C Marvin “The human eraser” Webster from Morgan State and Gus was the floor general from USC totally underrated should be considered for HOF

[@nmswizard8054]

Yes and should definitely have been finals mvp that year

[@samuelsawyers1126]

Oh man I called myself Gus Williams on the playground, this guy wore number 1 along with the big O Oscar Roberson my other playground king

[@jorgeluisrodrigues1322]

Dennis Johnson, the most underrated basketball player of all times.

[@cflo1386]

Indeed.

[@Ryan2022]

He’s so underrated he’s in the Hall of Fame

[@mjsmith8641]

​@@Ryan2022😅 yup

[@mjsmith8641]

Gus is the underrated one in reality

[@eugenemalush9284]

The Wizard is killing dudes!!!!!!

[@mjsmith8641]

Gus is a must as we used to say

[@kymmaurice122]

Yeah feels good to see ya idol in basketball game no cable back when

[@chiefxx8259]

Michael Ray Richardson was another one ! 6ft 5 inch

[@jerryday9838]

The Wizard,Gus Johnson,May GOD bless him

[@Dman425]

I think you mean Williams

[@jerryday9838]

You're right ✅️ 😌 I'm sorry it is WILLIAMS.

[@bone1997]

Was this game at the Seattle Center Coliseum or the Kingdome?

[@linnstr8609]

According to wiki, this specific game was played at the Seattle Center Coliseum, even though the Sonics were tenants at the Kingdome from 1978 to 1985. I am guessing there was a scheduling conflict at the Kingdome..

[@chrisuncleahmad666]

How did he not win Finals MVP?

[@tommurphy2746]

Dennis Johnson ended up winning the MVP, but I agree, I think Gus Williams should have won the MVP. Dennis Johnson averaged 22.6 during the series, but Gus averaged close to 30 points per game. Dennis Johnson was one of the greatest on the ball defenders in NBA history and during this championship series his defense was outstanding....Dennis Johnson was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 2007, and it was because of how great of a defensive player he was that got him inducted. The same thing with being named the MVP of that series, it was because of his defensive play, although he was still good offensively. But I agree, Gus Williams I think should have been the MVP.

[@jc940]

Dennis Johnson took the finals MVP because of his all around play, Gus Williams offense was awesome no doubt! But I felt DJ deserved it, his offense was really good his defense was outstanding great rebounding, steals not to mention all those blocked shots he would pull off, i mean the guy did it all! RIP DENNIS JOHNSON.

[@cflo1386]

@@jc940 DJ was a warrior.

[@jc940]

@@cflo1386 big time!👍

[@warrenparker8282]

Gus Dennis and freddy

[@tommurphy2746]

In my opinion, that three guard rotation of Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson and "Downtown" Freddy Brown, was one of the best 3-guard combos in NBA history. That was the strength of that Sonic team. I remember when "Downtown" Freddy Brown scored 58 points against the Warriors at Golden State in 1973 or 1974....and that was without a 3 point line. If there had been a 3 pt line back then, Fred Brown would've scored probably 65 or more points in that game instead of 58. He literally couldn't miss a shot...everything was falling including the game winning basket from about 30 feet at the buzzer for a 139-137 victory over the Warriors. That game was televised and I'll never forget it. One of the best snd funnest basketball games I had ever seen, and the best shooting and offensive performance I have ever seen in a game by a player..."Downtown" Freddy Brown.

[@seanprenter7276]

@@tommurphy2746 Joe Dumars,Isiah Thomas, and Vinnie(Microwave) Johnson weren't too bad either. This is coming from a Portland Trailblazer fan.Oh BTW I forgot about Rod Strickland,Terry Porter, and Clyde Drexler.Terry was tough and could flat out shoot.Rod's pushing the ball/penetration added another dimension and of course Clyde could do it all.

[@tommurphy2746]

@@seanprenter7276 I agree, the Pistons and Trailblazers had a great 3-guard combo as well. Just a fun side note....did you know that Vinnie Johnson was actually drafted by the Sonics out of Baylor in the 1979 NBA draft? I think he only played one or two years with the Sonics though. Plus, as a rookie he didn't get much playing time. But I always thought he was going to be good someday once he got more experience, and I was right, he became good enough to earn the nickname "The Microwave". Too bad the Sonics didn't keep him.

[@dannycorsaro546]

@@tommurphy2746 good time to watch sonics 😃 you are absolutely correct about the three of them!

[@HiNRGboy]

@@tommurphy2746 Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, and Sam Jones.. doesn't get much better than that 😉

[@ckobo84]

Where's the 3-point line? If there's no line how do they know if it's a 3 or not?

[@sheldontaylor2002]

No threepoint. Line yet

[@liaml69]

And so began the Curse of Washington Basketball that continues to this day.

[@Johnny-xj5qu]

So fun to watch video from yesteryear, but as somebody who watched from the 80’s through today, today’s teams would obliterate these 2 teams here playing for the title

[@tommurphy2746]

I totally disagree. Today's NBA is soft and overrated. 3 or 4 guys stand behind the 3 point line waiting to receive the basketball so they can jack up another 3. No strategy, soft and boring. In the old NBA players could hand-check and there was no 3 point line until the 1979-80 season. Every basket was worth the same 2 points. The game was much more physical. Today's pampered NBA players wouldn't know what to do without a 3 point line. I will take the 1979 NBA Champion Seattle SuperSonics and put them in todays NBA without the 3 point line and hand-checking allowed, with the old rules that applied back then and I would like their chances to win just like they did back when they won the tittle. That Sonic team had 7 players on their team that had made at least one all star team at some point during their career. They were loaded.

[@Johnny-xj5qu]

@@tommurphy2746 that Sonics team was one of the worst title teams in history, and only made it there because Bill Walton went down for the season. NBA defense was soft as hell until the Pistons in the late 80’s. The 80’s game was wide open, high scoring, with very little defense. Handchecking was never allowed until Riley’s Knicks in ‘92 pushed the envelope. Teams started copying it, and by ‘94 it was banned completely except for in the post, below the FT line extended. Also, “defense” used to mean “Let your man shoot it from deep, they can’t win that way, so control the midrange and the lane”. Imagine what would happen to them trying that “defense” today, they’d be talked about as if they played no defense. Also, people aren’t sitting around still waiting for a 3, there is more movement than any time in history. I’ll agree the 30+ 3’s put up per game can get tiresome, but it only proves that evolution isn’t always pretty. Those Sonics would get mauled in 4 games by almost any team out there today simply because of evolution. Shooters, ball handlers, and athletes everywhere. And todays players would have it easy on defense, getting to leave about 3 players wide open all game to focus on those who could actually hit shots, they wouldn’t have to extend 25 ft out to cover people.

[@tommurphy2746]

@@Johnny-xj5qu First of all, Bill Walton broke his foot during the 1977-78 season....the Sonics won the championship the following season (1978-79). I agree that the Blazers with a healthy Bill Walton was a better team than the Sonics. The Sonics started the 1977-78 season 5-17, and were not very good and they were not playing well. The Sonics fired their coach Bob Hopkins after the 5-17 start and hired Lenny Wilkens who acquired Gus Williams from Golden St. and after "Downtown" Freddy Brown came back from an injury, he had Brown come off the bench and started Dennis Johnson with Gus Williams. Lenny turned the Sonics around and they went 42-18 after the 5-17 start to finish 47-35. They would lose in the finals to the Bullets in 7 games. The following season they went 52-30 and had some key injuries during the season or their record woul have been a little better. They of course went on to beat the Bullets 4 games to 1 to win the 1978-79 Championship. The following season which was Magic Johnson's rookie season with the Lakers, the Sonics finished second to the Lakers in the Pacific Division with a 56-26 record. That Lakers team was loaded and the Sonics would eventually lose to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals 4 games to 1. The Sonics took game 1 in L.A.. The Sonics blew two double digit leads to the Lakers in games 3 and 4. They had a halftime lead in one of those games 57-43 if I remember correctly, and ended up blowing that lead and lost by 2 points. Every game in the series was close and even though the Lakers took the series in 5 games, they had fight in every game to win. They were the better team in that series but the Sonics stayed with them and every game came down to the fourth quarter. Magic Johnson and Kareem both said the Sonics were a great team and years later in the mid 90s, Magic Johnson was recalling that Sonics team and once again said that was a great team. I do agree that there were better Championship teams than that Sonics team...but I also don't believe that they were one of the weakest Championship teams. The one thing that Sonics team was missing was a more dominant center. Although Jack Sikma is a Hall-of-Famer, he always struggled against the great centers like Kareem. I feel like with a great center, that Sonic team would've had a great team. I still feel they were a legit Championship team. At least Magic Johnson agrees with me. Anyway, I have enjoyed corresponding with you and wish you well. Take care.

[@Dman425]

I 100% disagree

[@Riles3152]

Even if your right, as a millennial myself, I come away with FAR more respect and appreciation for 70's, 80's and 90's NBA than what the game has become today. These guys today BY AND LARGE don't play with anywhere near the same level of intensity, competitive energy or will to win as they showcased in these older era's. The level and standard of high end competition of older era's almost entirely blows today's NBA out of the water. These guys today make too much money IMO, are too coddled and entitled, and are too protected because of re-imagined rules to literally increase scoring and basically eliminate overly physically and the ability to dominate defensively, for me to even compare it to golden era NBA days.

[@Blkac-pill-Black-Life]

😭😭😭 You are still my guy tho RVD and ill keep get you them views even if the saga continues ❤️

[@Swove2204]

I've got, like, two more days of Gus Williams and the 1979 Sonics, hang in there. It's the least I could do for a guy who averaged close to 30 a night during a Finals series and was subsequently forgotten by history.

[@Blkac-pill-Black-Life]

✊🏼🙏🏼❤️

[@RiM2540]

Ryan Van Dusen thank you for these Sonics highlights. You don’t see much of them from this late 70s - early 80s era. If you can upload more it would be a treat!

[@ricardodufty4818]

@@Swove2204 must be, cuz I just saw a picture of him and I had to ask a buddy who it was. So now I'm getting educated. 🤔🧐💯

[@thejimmyjsmoovenetwork7804]

@@Swove2204 You Could Argue He Should Have Been The MVP Of The Finals