Art Williams

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.

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. 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.

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.

Career statistics

NBA/ABA Source

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG STL BLK PPG S.D. Rockets 79 22.0 .369 .685 3.6 4.9 8.1 S.D. Rockets 79 25.2 .383 .705 4.6 6.6 7.1 S.D. Rockets 80 19.3 .407 .746 3.7 6.3 5.8 Boston 74 15.4 .455 .723 2.8 3.1 4.9 Boston 81 16.4 .475 .756 3.2 4.0 5.1 Boston 81 12.0 .421 .768 2.2 2.9 3.2 † Boston 67 9.2 .435 .844 1.7 2.4 .7 .0 2.6 S.D. Conquistadors (ABA) 7 12.7 .667 – – 1.7 2.9 1.0 .0 2.3Career (NBA) 541 17.2 .409 .729 3.1 4.4 .7 .0 5.3Career (overall) 548 17.2 .410 – .729 3.1 4.4 .7 .0 5.3

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 1969 S.D. Rockets 6 17.0 .480 .429 2.8 5.3 4.5 1972 Boston 11 15.7 .391 .750 2.5 3.0 5.9 1973 Boston 10 15.6 .447 .750 2.7 4.1 4.8 1974† Boston 12 8.0 .370 .875 1.9 2.4 .6 .0 2.3Career 39 13.5 .417 .721 2.4 3.5 .6 .0 4.3