Pat Williams, title-winning Sixers GM and Magic co-founder, dies at 84

Pat Williams, title-winning Sixers GM and Magic co-founder, dies at 84 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Pat Williams, a championship-winning Sixers general manager and co-founder of the Orlando Magic, died Wednesday at 84 years old, the Magic announced.

According to the organization’s press release, Williams “died peacefully … surrounded by family” and “the cause of death was complications from viral pneumonia.”

“There is no Orlando Magic without Pat Williams,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a league release. “He was held in such high regard in the basketball community and was a friend to me and so many generations of league executives. Pat was never at a loss for a kind and supportive word and always brought great enthusiasm, energy and optimism to everything he did throughout his more than 50 years in the NBA.

“We express our heartfelt condolences to Pat’s wife, Ruth, their family and the entire Magic organization.”

Born in Philadelphia and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Williams had an extraordinarily colorful, decorated career in professional sports. He served as general manager of the Bulls, Hawks, Sixers and Magic, a franchise he founded with Jimmy Hewitt. In 2012, he received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

His Sixers teams reached the 1977, 1980 and 1982 NBA Finals. With Moses Malone on board, they won it all in 1983. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey called Williams “one of the all-time great general managers” in a tweet Wednesday night.

RIP Pat Williams – architect of the legendary world champion 1983 @sixers and one of the all-time great general managers with the 4th most wins vs losses in NBA history (1151 wins vs only 817 losses)

— Daryl Morey 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) July 18, 2024

Williams was on hand in 2023 for the 40th anniversary celebration of the ’82-83 Sixers.

Before breaking into basketball, Williams caught at Wake Forest and played two seasons for the Miami Marlins, who were then the Philadelphia Phillies’ affiliate in the Florida State League. (Williams happened…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pat-williams-title-winning-sixers-100910905.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-07-18 10:09:10

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