Pat Williams, Co-Founder of Orlando Magic, Dies at 84

Pat Williams, the basketball executive who played a crucial role in bringing the NBA’s Orlando Magic to Florida, has passed away at the age of 84. According to his team, Williams died on Wednesday due to complications from viral pneumonia.

Williams was a co-founder of the Orlando Magic and spent more than half a century working in the NBA. He began his career in sports via baseball, serving as a minor league catcher and executive in the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins organizations. Williams then transitioned to basketball, joining the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968.

As general manager and senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, Williams was instrumental in shaping the team’s history. He was part of the effort to bring an NBA expansion team to Orlando, which succeeded in 1987. The team played its first season in 1989 and has since reached the playoffs 17 times, including two Eastern Conference championships in 1995 and 2009.

During his tenure with the Magic, Williams was responsible for drafting Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard, as well as making key trades for players like Penny Hardaway and Tracy McGrady. He received the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 from the Naismith Hall of Fame and was a member of the inaugural class of the Magic’s Hall of Fame.

Williams retired in 2019 and is survived by his wife, Ruth, and their 19 children, 14 of whom are adopted from foreign countries. His legacy will be remembered as a key figure in the history of the Orlando Magic and the NBA.