New York City streetball legend Corey “Homicide” Williams has died at the age of 46 after a battle with colon cancer.
After making a name for himself as a streetball basketball player, Williams had a long professional basketball career, including MVP awards in the NBA D-League (now called the G-League) and Australia’s National Basketball League. .
“I went into it with a goal. I didn’t necessarily want to win the game, I wanted to get attention. And I was going to do that through volume. You know, on the playing field because I turned the ball over. No coach is going to send you out. It’s more about style than substance.” Williams wrote for the Players Tribune. In 2016 he documented his journey.
“So, to build my national team, I put together a team of solid players who would give me the ball. And it was my team, so if I received the ball 30 times, I would get 30 You better believe I was going to shoot twice, and that freedom led me to get a lot of buckets instead of having my shots blocked three or four times. But I wasn’t going to go to the bench. I wasn’t going to get off easy. I was going to hit back at you right away until I got my stuff.”
Initially, Williams divided his time between the playground and playing professionally overseas.
“Slowly but surely, I started to make a name for myself and offers from professional teams started coming in. Let me tell you, they weren’t strong offers, but they still didn’t faze me. I mean, what are you going to do when you’re living in a dumpster and that’s all you’ve got?” Williams wrote.
“You make it work. At the same time, I knew I needed to establish my own rep in New York. So I spent time on playground courts in the city, wherever I went.” I was going to be in Brazil in the fall, Stockholm in the spring, and then go back to New York and cross my name off the list.”
Williams’ biggest success came in the NBL, where he won the league MVP in 2010 as a member of the Townsville Crocodiles.
The NBL community is mourning the loss of Williams.
“Having Corey on board as part of our NBL commentary team was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Without his passion for the league and growing the game in Australia, we is not here today…” NBL Executive Director Larry Kestelman. stated in a statement.
“Corey ‘Killer’ Williams will never be seen again, may he rest in peace.”
He was remembered as a mensch by ESPN NBL reporter Olgun Uruku.
“This is truly a huge and tragic loss for the Australian basketball community. The NBL would not be able to reach the heights it is today without his presence, both on and off the court.” Uruk wrote to X.
“It is incredibly difficult to lose my friend Corey. He touched so many people’s lives in so many different ways, but I am deeply grateful to him for the future of Australian basketball and the NBL. I was very fortunate to be able to see up close how much they cared.
“Self-promotion and bombastic attitude were definitely who he was, but he was also very aware of what role it played in promoting the game. He also used himself as a vessel to lift us all up.
“His family should be very proud of the monumental legacy he left behind.”
