The same reason he became poverty stricken after a 10-year NBA career was the same reason Ray Williams, the former Knick and Mount Vernon great who passed away on Friday after a bout with colon cancer, was so beloved.
“He understood we are obligated to our fellow human beings to be there in their time of need, and sometimes when he did that he got himself into financial need, but that wasn’t important to him,” Mount Vernon Mayor and close friend Clinton I. Young, Jr., said.
There was an outpouring of such support when word spread of his death at the age of 58, and all of that was on display Wednesday, in tears, fond memories and eternal gratitude from the hundreds of people who attended his funeral Mass at Allen Memorial Church in Mount Vernon and remembered him as kind-hearted, friendly to those he didn’t even know and dedicated.
His NBA family showed up in droves, from Knicks coach Mike Woodson and assistant Herb Williams to former teammates Earl Monroe and Albert King. Ray Williams, a supremely talented 6-foot-3 guard who starred for two seasons at Minnesota alongside Kevin McHale, was the Knicks’ first round pick (10th overall) in 1997. He averaged 16.4 points in five seasons in New York and went on to play for New Jersey, Kansas City, Boston, Atlanta and San Antonio.
“The NBA world is in mourning right now because we lost one of our brothers,” Herb Williams said afterward. “Not only that, he was just a great person to be around. He just lived life to the fullest. He was so grateful for what he had.”
His life deteriorated financially after his retirement, the result of lending money to too many friends and family members. He divorced his first wife and filed for bankruptcy in the mid 1990’s. He was homeless at one point, before Young Jr. brought him home to Mount Vernon and Ray Williams began working in the town’s recreation department a few years ago. He helped get the restoration of a local park passed, remarried and was looking forward to further helping the Mount Vernon youth.
“He was well-loved and well respected, and that’s why the turnout is the way it is,” Woodson, the Knicks coach, said. “He was the best. He was special.”
King, who played with Ray Williams when he was a Net, shared his teammate’s greatest on-court memory, the night Ray Williams scored 52 points against the Pistons. After the first quarter, when Ray Williams poured in 20 points, the entire team knew it wasn’t going to see the ball much that night.
Years later, when King visited Ray Williams at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, his former teammate hadn’t forgotten the memory or the bonding that followed, when his teammates celebrated his highest-scoring performance as a pro with a bear hug and headlocks. The thing he remembered most from that visit was Ray Williams’ smile and upbeat attitude, despite his looming death.
“We’re all going to be there one day,” King said during the service. “I hope and pray there will be the same laughter and joy coming out of your room.”