053 - John Williamson
“Look, on the hardwood! It's No. 23!” … Sept. 10, ’73. Kings Point, LI. First pro camp. Handmade leather bag slung over one shoulder. Nickname embossed in blue … “They call me Super John.” … Dr. J: “What the heck is a Super John?” … “To be super means that you’re very strong—that you’re physical.” … Six-foot-two, 200 pounds. Or so—weight fluctuated … More powerful than a locomotive? … Teammate Tim Bassett called him “one of the strongest people I’ve ever seen. He was a physical fitness nut.” … Thrived on contact. Steve Albert, Nets play-by-play man: “He was more of a warrior than a player, a guy who went out there and physically punished you.” … Cocky? Sure. The chip on his broad shoulders was the size of East Rock … “I’m No. 1 in my own mind. I don’t think there is a better guard out there.” … If Denver’s Ralph Simpson is All-League, “then I’m All-World.” … Coach Kevin Loughery: “He wants nobody else taking shots. When I call a play for somebody else, he gets upset.” Didn’t matter that the face of the league wore the same colors … Might surprise some. Didn’t dub himself. A sportswriter hung the moniker on him during his schoolboy days at Wilbur Cross High in New Haven. Won a state title as a sophomore. Averaged 38.8 a night as a senior. Three-time All-State. First-team Parade All-American in ’70. “Y’all know where New Haven is?” … Motto: Shoot first. Let ’em ask questions later … Zander Hollander put it this way: “Has been known to pass off occasionally, like Mother’s Day, Veteran’s Day.” … Labeled selfish. Took exception. “When Julius Erving and Earl Monroe and lots of others score, they don’t get called selfish.” … And at least one teammate saw the big picture. Big House Jones called him “our most explosive offensive player.” … Biggest stage: May 13, ’76. ABA Finals, Game 6. Nassau Coliseum … Win and they’re champs. Didn’t look like it’d be tonight. Nuggets up 58-45 at the half. Super John? Four points … “I felt I’d have to come back and dominate my man in the second half so we wouldn’t have to go back to Denver.” … Doc’s halftime message: “Go to the hoop with authority.” … Instead, it got worse. Nuggets stretched the lead to 22 with 5:07 left in the third: 80-58. Sellout crowd of 15,934? Silent … Timeout New York. Loughery: “We only had one thing left, the press. It was our only hope.” … Denver coach Larry Brown: “Their press got active and the game got physical.” … And with eight in the quarter, Super John was beginning to make his presence felt. Nets closed out the period on a 20-12 run. After three, 92-78. Down 14 …
Fourth quarter. Melchionni: “That’s when Super John took over the game.” … Did it without a cape. Wasn’t standard ABA issue. Racked up 13 of the Nets’ first 18 points. Eleven straight in there somewhere …
New Yorkers on their feet. “Supe! Supe! Supe!” … “The crowd started responding to me and I got that rhythm going.” … Drive. Jumper. Repeat. Melchionni: “He went left, right, straight ahead. He went past defenders, through defenders, over defenders.” … Fritz Massman, Nets trainer: “Everyone was keying on Doc, and John was popping them right in.” … Then, with 2:24 to play, pull-up baseline jump shot from 15-feet out. SWISH! Puts the Nets ahead for good, 106-104. Finishes with 28 … Teammate Kim Hughes: “They didn’t really have an answer to John. He just imposed his will on the game.” … Waning seconds. On Home Box Office—a pay-cable-TV upstart, soon known by its initials. Albert: “It’s all over. It’s all over! With three seconds to go. And the crowd storms onto the court … And the ball game’s over! Pandemonium as the New York Nets win!” … Final: 112-106 … Erving, from the Nets’ champagne-soaked locker room: “This was the game we showed everyone that we’re not a one-man team.” … Doc took Finals MVP. But Super John owned the fourth. Sixteen in Game 6. Eighteen in Game 5. Thirteen in Game 3. Averaged 22.5 over the six-game series … ABA silver championship trophy. Appeared familiar. Someone had lifted the new one out of a rental car in Denver. So the league dug up the one from ’74 and handed it to the Nets—again … Post-game interview: “I’m glad I’m getting that second diamond. I’d like to see this team stay together and get 13 of them the way Russell and Havlicek did in Boston.” Didn’t happen. ABA merged with the NBA the next month; Doc was traded four months later. The Nets soon moved to New Jersey and later to Brooklyn. And still looking for their first NBA title … Super John lasted until Feb. 1, '77. Nets wouldn't meet his demands. Shipped him to the Pacers 45 minutes before the deadline. Square-pegged it. “I never felt a part of Indiana.” … Back to the Nets a year later. Averaged 29.5 in 33 games with New Jersey — would've led the league. Named to Vecsey's All-Egotistical Team, with a qualifier: probably deserved most of the praise he gave himself … Jan. 23, ‘80: Passed Dr. J to become the No. 1 scorer in franchise history on a 10-foot bank shot with 10:09 to play … By then, he'd worn out his welcome. Again. “I talked too much and I got fat.” Summed up four months of contract renegotiations in eight words. Cost him $50K a year. And a plane ticket out of town … Vecsey’s take: “The guy is not a bad person—just a little nuttier than the rest of us.” … Last stop: The nation's capital. Off the bench. April '80: Final two playoff games of his career. Against Dr. J's 76ers. Still Super. Twenty-seven points in 31 minutes … Cut loose Dec. 3, '80 … Done at 30. Put up 14.1 a game in three ABA seasons; 20.1 over parts of five in the NBA … Nickname weighed on him. “Every night there was pressure to perform. I had to live up to Super John.” … Played college ball at New Mexico State. Averaged 27.1 as a sophomore, 27.2 as a junior. Still owns Aggie records for 30-point games (17), points in a game (48) and career scoring average (27.2) … Turned pro after being ruled ineligible for earning too much at an offseason job as a freshman. Hawks took him in the sixth round. NMS coach Lou Henson: “Williamson made the mistake of a lifetime.” Claimed he'd have gone in the first round as a senior … Signed with the Nets instead for the league minimum of $17,500. Plus a $1,500 bonus … Born John Lee Williamson, Nov. 10, 1951, in West Haven, CT. Teammates at NMS called him Black Jesus. Son Maurice played at LSU with Shaq … After basketball? Lost it all—three houses, a Mercedes. Wound up working at a juvenile detention center in his hometown. Told kids what booze and drugs had cost him … Nets retired his No. 23 jersey in ’90 … Took him 13 words to sum up his life. “Life isn’t all basketball. I was a champion. I was rich. Then poor.” … The book he never wrote: From John to Super John, and Back to John ... Ran out of time. Years of alcohol abuse did him in. Died November 30, 1996, in New Haven. At age 45. After a lengthy battle with kidney disease. Rev. J. Stanley Justice: “Now John’s playing above the rim.”
Sourcing: Albuquerque Journal, 3/11/1992; Anderson Daily Bulletin, 5/14/1976 [Dr. J’s halftime advice; Super John doesn’t want anyone else taking shots quote; John’s rhythm quote]; Anniston Star, 12/15/1979 [got fat]; Baltimore Sun, 5/15/1976, 3/27/1978, 12/1/1996 [obituary]; Binghamton Press, 9/11/1973 [Nets camp opens at King Point, LI]; Bridgeport Telegram, 6/5/1976 [Super John Day in New Haven on June 4, ’76]; Buffalo Evening News, 5/14/1976 [I had to redeem myself for messing up in the first half; incorrectly credits John with 18 fourth quarter points; scored 13 of first 18 fourth quarter points]; Carlsbad Current Argus, 5/4/1973; Connecticut Post, 1/12/1973 [academically ineligible as freshman at NMS], 3/17/1974 [brother Jiggy], 12/16/1976 [I play a physical game quote], 12/1/1996 [years of alcohol abuse]; Danbury News-Times, 12/1/1973 [leather bag]; Denver Post, 5/14/1976 [game details; “I had to redeem myself for messing up in the first half.”]; El Paso Herald Post, 12/1/1973 [Signed for minimum of $17,500 plus $1,500 bonus]; Hackensack Record, 1/13/1980, 1/18/1988 [Life isn’t basketball quote]; Hartford Courant, 3/17/1968 [won state title], 6/17/1990 [pressure to perform], 12/1/1996 [obituary], 12/7/1996 [obituary], 12/9/1996 [At Nets camp, rookie season; Call me Super John; Doc’s reply], 12/9/1999 [Black Jesus by teammates at NMS], 1/2/2000; Indianapolis News 11/17/1977 [traded to Pacers]; Indianapolis Star, 11/18/1977 [Slick Leonard selfish quote]; Las Cruces Sun-News, 4/11/1973 [declared ineligible at NMS]; Los Angeles Times, 3/29/1987 [“To be super means” quote; dubbed Super John by local newspaper]; Madison Courier, 5/14/1976 [AP story; 5:07 left in 3rd, down 22]; Marion Chronicle Tribune, 5/14/1976 [AP story: Nets down 22 in third, just over 5 minutes left; 16 fourth-quarter points, including 11 straight; baseline jumper with 2:26 left put Nets ahead; crowd stormed onto the court before game clock expired]; Meriden Record-Journal, 12/1/1996 [Massman quote re Game 6]; Meriden Journal, 4/4/1970; Mount Vernon Argus, 5/14/1976 [Larry Brown quote re press; Doc one-man team, post-game quote; Great Western Champagne], 1/9/1980 []; Newark Star-Ledger, 8/5/1990; New Jersey Herald, 9/7/1973; New Jersey Herald & News, 12/8/1990; New York Amsterdam News, 5/22/1976 [Super John’s jumper by sent the Nets ahead by two at 2:19; but video shows time elapsed to 2:19 after 20 second timeout called so must’ve happened later than what story claims]; New York Daily News, 6/28/1973 [not drafted by ABA], 9/10/1973, 9/11/1973 [Nets camp opens at Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy], 5/14/1976 [stolen trophy valued at $25,000], 10/13/1983 [“I talked too much and I got fat.”]; Newsday, 4/2/1976 [severely sprained ankle; Loughery quote re one-on-one abilities], 5/14/1976 [Larry Fox story], 7/8/1976 [John Williamson Day in New Haven; 200 attend banquet], 5/20/1976, 2/10/1977 [Leonard: money player], 6/6/1995; New York Daily News, 11/22/1976 [selfish quote, Erving and Monroe; Archibald quote re John’s passing abilities]; New York Times, 11/12/1973 [gets the start as rookie and Nets snap losing streak], 5/14/1976 [Game six details], 5/15/1976 [ABA $900 silver trophy stolen], 3/18/1978 [scored 10 in OT against the Nuggets]; 1/29/1979 [“I’ve always been a great shooter quote], 11/18/1979, 1/24/1980 [passed Dr. J on franchise scoring chart], 2/6/1980, 12/2/1996 [rookie details; Rod Thorn quote re rookie season and ABA title; obituary]; Passaic Herald-News, 1/28/1978 [traded back to Nets after signing four year deal with Indiana]; Paterson News, 4/4/1979; Peoria Journal Star, 11/22/1973; Red Bank Daily Register, 1/25/1980 [assault charged dropped]; San Antonio Light, 1/4/1980 [charged with third-degree assau;t for striking wife Bertha]; San Antonio News, 4/20/1976 [Vecsey’s All-Egotistical Team], 2/7/1980 [Vecsey’s nuttier quote]; Stamford Advocate, 12/15/1987 [lost it all, three homes, a Mercedes], 12/7/1996 [obituary; NMS details]; Staten Island Advance, 5/14/1976 [full AP story], 5/16/1976 [John dynasty quote, and “I’d be sad if this was the end.”]; Syracuse Post-Standard, 5/14/1976 [15-foot jumper with 2:24 to go]; Waterloo Courier, 12/26/1976; York Daily Record, 1/4/1980 [assault charges against wife]; Basketball Digest (Chuck O’Donnell, Jan. 2001); fadeawayworld.net, accessed 8/9/2026 [stolen trophy story]; nmshof.org, accessed 8/9/2026 [NMS HOF, ’74]; theshootersbounce.com, accessed 8/9/2026 [“to be super means” quote]; sportsbroadcastjournal.com, accessed 8/9/2026 [Al and Steve Albert call Game 6; Al for Denver, Steve for Nets on HBO]; Sports Illustrated, 5/17/1976 [Game 3 quote: “They’re playing good defense, but not even good D can stop me.”], 5/24/1976 [Down 22 with 5:07 to play in third; Commissioner DeBusschere presented trophy]; Loose Balls (Terry Pluto, 1990) [Albert quote re Williamson]; youtube.com, accessed 8/9/2026 [video of Game 6 of ABA Finals; scored 16 in fourth, 13 of first 18, and 11 straight; Steve Albert with the play-by-play].