Former NBA Player Ray Williams Died of Cancer

Cancer claimed the life of Ray Williams at the age of 58 today. Williams starred for the New York Knicks in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and played in the League for 10 seasons. Per the NY Post: “Knicks coach Mike Woodson and assistant and former Knicks guard Darrell Walker visited Williams in the hospital 2 1/2 weeks ago. Woodson remembered Williams as a gritty guard. Williams, from Mount Vernon, played five seasons for the Knicks, making two stints. He was the 10th overall pick in the 1977 draft. ‘He was awesome,’ Woodson said recently. ‘Physical. Tough. Knew how to play. He was a prototype combo guard because he can play 1, he could play 2 and could guard the 3 because he was so physical. To see him in the hospital like that you don’t wish that on anyone. That’s why we should be fortunate we can walk around and laugh.’ Williams, who played at Minnesota, averaged 16.4 points for the Knicks. He was a backcourt mate of Micheal Ray Richardson. ‘We talked about fond memories,’ Woodson said. ‘We have a lot of fond memories. We laughed about a lot of things. It was kind of nice.'”