Williams played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 1975 NBA draft.

He played college basketball at the University of Southern California,[1] where both he led the Pac-8 in scoring and was named an All-American in 1975.

Williams, whose style of play earned him the nickname "the Wizard",[5] led the Sonics to the 1979 league title while averaging a team-high 28.6 points per game in the 1979 NBA Finals.

He returned in 1981–82 and was named the NBA Comeback Player of the Year after finishing seventh in the league in scoring with a career-high 23.4 points per game.

[7] Williams suffered a stroke in February 2020 and later moved to an assisted care facility in the Baltimore area.