Art Williams
Height6 ft
Height in1
Weight lb180
Birth dateSeptember 29, 1939
Birth placeBonham, Texas, U.S.
Death dateSeptember 27, 2018 (aged 78)
Death placeSan Diego, California, U.S.
High schoolSan Diego (San Diego, California)
College
Draft year1963
Career start1967
Career end1975
Career number14, 7, 8, 30
Years 1–
Team 1San Diego Rockets
Years 2–
Team 2Boston Celtics
Years 31974–1975
Team 3San Diego Conquistadors
Highlights
Stats leagueNBA and ABA
Stat1labelPoints
Stat1value2,892 (5.3 ppg)
Stat2labelRebounds
Stat2value1,712 (3.1 rpg)
Stat3labelAssists
Stat3value2,397 (4.4 apg)

Arthur T. Williams (September 29, 1939 – September 27, 2018), also known as Hambone Williams, was an American professional basketball player.

Williams played basketball for two seasons at San Diego City College from 1959 to 1961 and for the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos during the 1962–63 season.[1]

Williams played seven seasons (1967–1974) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the San Diego Rockets and Boston Celtics. Williams became the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double within his first four NBA games, joining Oscar Robertson.[2] He averaged 5.3 points per game in his career and won an NBA Championship with Boston in 1974. He received his nickname in junior high when someone called out, "hambone" and he turned around.[3]

Williams also played briefly with the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association in 1974–1975.

After suffering a stroke, Williams died on September 27, 2018, at the age of 78.[4]

Career statistics

NBA/ABA

Source[5]

Regular season

YearTeamGPMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSTLBLKPPG
S.D. Rockets7922.0.369.6853.64.98.1
S.D. Rockets7925.2.383.7054.66.67.1
S.D. Rockets8019.3.407.7463.76.35.8
Boston7415.4.455.7232.83.14.9
Boston8116.4.475.7563.24.05.1
Boston8112.0.421.7682.22.93.2
†Boston679.2.435.8441.72.4.7.02.6
S.D. Conquistadors (ABA)712.7.667––1.72.91.0.02.3
Career (NBA)54117.2.409.7293.14.4.7.05.3
Career (overall)54817.2.410–.7293.14.4.7.05.3

Playoffs

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1969S.D. Rockets617.0.480.4292.85.34.5
1972Boston1115.7.391.7502.53.05.9
1973Boston1015.6.447.7502.74.14.8
1974†Boston128.0.370.8751.92.4.6.02.3
Career3913.5.417.7212.43.5.6.04.3

See also

References

  1. ^ "1963 Undrafted - Art Williams". The Draft Review. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  2. ^ CBS Sports. Retrieved 2017-Oct-25.
  3. ^ Villa, Walter (October 30, 2012). "Fan gets chance to repay former Boston Celtics player Art 'Hambone' Williams". Miami Herald. Archived November 3, 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ Krasovic, Tom. "Former San Diego High star (and Celtics champion) "Hambone" Williams dies". sandiegouniontribune.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Art Williams NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 21 June 2024.