Former Knicks and Nets guard Ray Williams, whose life was turned upside-down
after his 10-year playing career by bankruptcy and homelessness, died Friday
at 58.
Williams, a native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., had been battling colon cancer at
Manhattan’s Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Drafted 10th overall out of Minnesota in 1977 by the New York Knicks,
Williams played 10 seasons that included two stints with the Knicks. He
signed with the Nets as a free agent in 1981 and then was traded to the
Kansas City Kings. Williams, who played two seasons with current New York
coach Mike Woodson, was traded back to the Knicks in 1983. He then bounced
around the league to Boston, Atlanta and San Antonio before being traded to
the Nets where he finished his career after the 1986-87 season.
“I was just with him last week at the cancer hospital,” Woodson told the
New York Post earlier this month. “Awesome. Physical. Tough. Knew how to
play.
“He was a prototype combo guard because he could play the one, could play
two and could guard the three because he was so physical. To see him in the
hospital like that, you don’t wish that on anyone.
“We talked about fond memories. We have a lot of fond memories. A year here.
A few years in Kansas city. We laughed about a lot of things. It was kind of
nice.”
The 6-foot-3 Williams had career averages of 15.5 points a game and 5.8
assists a game. From 1979-82, he produced three consecutive seasons — the
first two with the Knicks and the Nets — of averaging at least 19.7 ppg and
5.5 assists. His best season was his third with the Knicks in 1979-80 when he
averaged 20.9 ppg and 6.2 apg.
Williams’ life took a dramatic swing once he retired. Financial issues
plunged him into bankruptcy and homelessness, ultimately leading to his wife
and children leaving him. He reportedly bounced around odd jobs in Florida
and was ultimately able to get back on his feet with the help of former
Celtics teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, who helped him financially,
according to a January article written by Ben Hohler in The Boston Globe.
Doctors reportedly discovered the tumor in Williams’ colon after he was
given a free colon-cancer screening offered through the NBA Retired Players
Association. According to the Post, Knicks owner James Dolan reportedly paid
for Williams to be flown from Florida to be treated at Sloan-Kettering.
美國時間週五，前尼克和籃網後衛雷-威廉姆斯(RayWilliams)因為癌症在紐約曼哈頓的
一家癌症治療中心去世，享年58歲。
威廉姆斯在1977年首輪第10順位被尼克選中，在NBA曾效力於尼克（1977-81、1983-84）
、籃網（1981-82、1986-87）、國王（1982 -83）、塞爾提克（1985）、老鷹（1985）
和馬刺（1986）。職業生涯共出場655場，場均得15.5分，5.8助攻。
退役之後，由於遭受財政問題，威廉姆斯申請了破產並失去了房子，他的妻子和孩子也
離開了他。威廉姆斯曾一度在佛羅里達打工，不過最終他在塞爾提克的隊友拉里-伯德
和凱文-麥克海爾向他伸出了援手。之前有報導稱，在由NBA退役球員協會組織的一次
免費體檢中，威廉姆斯的結腸被檢測出有腫瘤。據紐約郵報報導，尼克老闆詹姆斯-杜
蘭支付了威廉姆斯在曼哈頓治療的全部費用。
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/03/22/former-knick-ray-williams-dies-at-58/
http://bbs.hupu.com/5301273.html
R.I.P.