Orlando Magic co-founder Pat Williams, who was active in the NBA for almost 50 years, passed away on Wednesday after suffering complications from viral pneumonia, according to the team’s announcement. Williams was 84.
He began his NBA career as the Philadelphia 76ers’ business manager in 1968, and later served as general manager of the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and 76ers, helping the organization win a championship in 1983.
A few years later, Williams was engaged in the first stages of bringing an NBA club to Orlando. The league’s board of governors approved an expansion franchise in 1987, and the club started playing in 1989.
“Pat Williams simply brought magic to Orlando,” Orlando Magic chairman Dan DeVos and CEO Alex Martins said in a joint statement. “His achievements will always be remembered. With his unwavering optimism and boundless enthusiasm, he was a remarkable visionary who helped alter the world of sports in a variety of ways. From bringing the Magic to Orlando to revolutionizing sports marketing and promotions, he was always ahead of the game.
Williams was the general manager in Orlando before being appointed to senior vice president in 1996.
“There would be no Orlando Magic without Pat Williams,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated in a statement. “He was well regarded in the basketball world and a friend to several generations of league executives, including myself. Pat was never short of nice and helpful words, and he brought enormous excitement, energy, and optimism to everything he did throughout his more than 50 years in the NBA.”
Williams didn’t stop pressing for more in Orlando either. He talked often about why he wanted the city to obtain a Major League Soccer franchise (which it finally achieved) and was working to generate momentum for a Major League Baseball franchise as late as last year.
Williams’ initial athletic passion was baseball, which he pursued at Wake Forest. He joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 1962, ultimately becoming a front office worker, and was named Minor League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News in 1967.
“He loved a challenge, and when he moved our family to Orlando to start the Magic, he was full of excitement and energy that he displayed every day,” Williams’ family said in a statement. “We all grew up feeling that everything was possible because of his constant excitement for what he loved. Those who watched the games, saw him at church, or spent time with him in a social context know that he never met a stranger and was always ready to encourage. “He was a giver, a teacher, the best cheerleader, and a lifelong learner.”
Williams was once nicknamed the “king of the lottery” for his performance with the Magic when he represented the team at the league’s annual ceremony to decide who receives the No. 1 selection. Shaquille O’Neal, Anfernee Hardaway, and Dwight Howard all came to Orlando as a result of his lottery success.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Williams said, “Most teams have a trophy case full of trophies.” “We have a case filled with ping pong balls.”
His cases included substantially more than that. Williams has written over 100 books and completed 58 marathons, including the Boston Marathon 13 times. Williams was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in February 2011 and became an enthusiastic fundraiser for cancer research, serving on many boards for cancer organizations around the nation, including the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
He was also a motivational speaker, often addressing groups on leadership, collaboration, and the psychological challenges that come with being diagnosed with cancer, among other themes.
Williams spent his childhood in Wilmington, Delaware, before being born in Philadelphia. In 2012, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame awarded him with the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award. He was a member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame, the Magic’s Hall of Fame (in its first class in 2014), and the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
“The Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award was created to honor colleagues like Pat Williams who has demonstrated his enthusiasm for the game of basketball throughout his life,” Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo remarked in 2012 when Williams accepted the award. “Pat not only made a major impact in his leadership to cultivate the Chicago Bulls organization and bring a championship to the Philadelphia 76ers, but he invested an incredible effort to bring a successful franchise to Central Florida.”
Williams is survived by his wife, Ruth, and 19 children, 14 of whom were adopted from other nations.
“Pat forever changed the sports landscape of Orlando,” DeVos and Martins said. “He shed light on what many who called Orlando home already knew: Central Florida was an excellent area to live, work, and play. We all owe him a debt of gratitude, and he will be much missed but never forgotten.”
Who is the current owner of Orlando Magic?
The Orlando Magic is currently owned by the DeVos family, founders of the Amway company. Richard DeVos acquired the franchise in 1991, and upon his passing, ownership transitioned to his children in 2007, with Bob Vander Weide acting as the official representative.
