Former Cleveland Cavaliers’ Great John “Hot Rod” Williams, loses battle to Prostate Cancer – he was 53

John “Hot Rod” Williams, who spent 13 years in the NBA and was a popular and tough defensive sixth man on Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavs) playoff teams, passed away late last week. He was 53.

He died Friday in a Baton Rouge hospital from complications related to prostate cancer, Williams’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, said.
The Cavaliers called Williams “the humble embodiment and unsung hero of one of the most memorable and successful eras of Cavaliers basketball.”

The 6-foot-11 Williams was a key player for the 1988-89 Cavs, who went 57-25 during the regular season, only to be eliminated by Michael Jordan’s last-second jump shot in Game 5 of the first-round series.

Williams averaged 11 points and 6.8 rebounds for his career. During the 1989-90 season, he averaged 16.8 points and 8.1 rebounds. The Cavs made the playoffs in seven of Williams’ seasons in Cleveland, advancing as far as the Eastern Conference finals in 1992, when his team again lost to the Jordan’s Bulls.

“‘Hot Rod’ was the guy that willingly and pridefully drew the toughest defensive assignment,” the Cavaliers said in a statement. “He was the kind of talented, unselfish and versatile player and person that earned the respect of everyone around him, including his teammates and opponents, and those who knew and worked with him off the court as well.”

Williams was born in Louisiana and was given his nickname by his family for the engine-like sounds he made as he moved about as a baby. He played at Tulane, where he remains fourth in career scoring with 1,841 points and second in 20-point games with 36. Tulane had 4 winning seasons and two NIT appearances with Williams, who averaged 16 points and seven rebounds for the Green Wave.

Williams spent his first 9 NBA seasons with Cleveland, then closed his career with stints in Phoenix and Dallas, last playing in 1999.

The Suns lauded Williams as the “consummate teammate and a player who took great pride in his game, especially in doing the little things to help the team win.”

“Off the court,” the Suns added in their statement, “he was a humble and gracious man, willing to share his time and fun-loving nature with anyone.”

Source: Associated Press