Hot Rod Williams

© AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File

John Williams, popular 6th man with Cavaliers, dies at 53 - John "Hot Rod" Williams, a popular sixth man with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1995, has died. He was 53.

He died Friday in a Baton Rouge hospital from complications related to prostate cancer, Williams' agent, Mark Bartelstein, said.

He was "obviously a guy who could have started for many teams but had a role as a sixth man in Cleveland and was loved by his teammates," Bartelstein said. "Those were special teams and the only thing that stopped them from winning a championship was probably Michael Jordan."

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 Jordan's last-second jump shot in Game 5 of the first-round series.

Williams averaged 11 points and 6.8 rebounds for his NBA 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.

Williams was born in Louisiana and was given his nickname by his family for the enginelike sounds he made as he moved about as a baby. He played at Tulane and left as its second all-time scorer. Tulane had four winning seasons and two NIT appearances with Williams, who averaged 16 points and seven rebounds for the Green Wave.