ORLANDO, Fla. — A remembrance service to celebrate the life of Magic co-founder Pat Williams is planned for 3 p.m. July 26 at First Baptist Church on South John Young Parkway.

Williams, who spent more than a half-century working within the NBA, died Wednesday from complications related to viral pneumonia, the team announced. He was 84.

Williams started his NBA career as business manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968, then had stints as general manager of the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks and the 76ers — helping the franchise win a title in 1983.

A few years later, Williams was involved in starting the process of bringing an NBA team to Orlando.

It wasn't originally Williams' idea, but he helped make the dream a reality. He became friends with businessman Jimmy Hewitt after meeting the Orlando native when Williams, who was at the time general manager of Philadelphia 76ers, spoke at an event in Texas. The next year, in 1985, Williams was in Orlando to speak at another event, and Hewitt drove Williams to the airport afterward. As they would tell reporters later, Williams discussed during that ride that the NBA was preparing to expand and asked Hewitt what location in Florida would be best for an NBA franchise — Miami, Tampa or Jacksonville. According to both men, Hewitt responded, "Orlando is the place to be," went on to explain how Orlando would grow in the next few decades and told Williams that the city already was planning to build an arena.

Hewitt convinced Williams, who took it from there. Hewitt hired Williams to leave the 76ers without the promise of a team coming to Orlando, and Williams helped Hewitt sell then-NBA Commissioner David Stern on the idea of putting an expansion franchise in Orlando. Williams convinced 10,000 people to put down ticket deposits on an Orlando NBA team that did not yet exist and sold the community on a vision about how great it would be to bring an NBA team to the community.  

The plan came together when the league’s board of governors granted Orlando an expansion franchise in 1987, and the team began play in 1989. The rest is history.

“There is no Orlando Magic without Pat Williams,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “He was held in such high regard in the basketball community and was a friend to me and so many generations of league executives. Pat was never at a loss for a kind and supportive word and always brought great enthusiasm, energy and optimism to everything he did throughout his more than 50 years in the NBA.”

Orlando Magic Chairman Dan DeVos and Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins expressed their admiration and appreciation for Williams in a joint statement.

“Pat Williams simply brought magic to Orlando,” they said in the statement. “His accomplishments will always be remembered. Armed with his ever-present optimism and unparalleled energy, he was an incredible visionary who helped transform the world of sports in multiple ways. From bringing the Magic to Orlando, to transforming sports marketing and promotions, he was always ahead of the curve.”

Williams never stopped pushing for more in Orlando, either. He spoke often about why he wanted the city to get a Major League Soccer franchise — it eventually did — and as recently as last year was trying to build momentum to get a Major League Baseball franchise for the city.

Orlando Mayor Buddy said in a post on X, "Pat Williams was one of a kind, someone who was passionate about everything that he did and a friend to every person he met. He was a champion for Orlando whose impact went well beyond sports."

Baseball was Williams’ first sporting love; he played at Wake Forest. He signed to play in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization in 1962, eventually became a front-office worker and was picked as the Minor League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News in 1967.

“He loved a challenge, and when he moved our family to Orlando to start the Magic, he was full of excitement and energy that he displayed every day,” Williams’ family said in a statement. “We all grew up believing that anything is possible because of his unwavering enthusiasm for what he was passionate about. Those who attended the games, saw him at church, or spent time with him in a social setting know that he never met a stranger and was always quick with an encouraging word. He was a giver, a teacher, the ultimate cheerleader, and he was a lifelong learner.”

Williams was at one time dubbed the “king of the lottery,” given the success he and the Magic had when he showed up to represent the club at the league’s annual event to determine who gets the No. 1 pick. Lottery luck fell his way three times, bringing Shaquille O’Neal, Anfernee Hardaway and Dwight Howard to Orlando.

In this photo from 2004, Pat Williams, who was then senior vice president of the Magic, showed off a lottery ball as he prepared for his 3rd bid at winning the NBA Draft Lottery. He brought home the No. 1 pick for the 3rd time, and the Magic used it to draft center Dwight Howard. (AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove)

“Most teams have a trophy case full of trophies,” Williams once told The Associated Press. “We have a case filled with Ping-Pong balls.”

His cases were filled with far more than those. Williams wrote more than 100 books and ran 58 marathons, including the Boston Marathon 13 times. Diagnosed in February 2011 with multiple myeloma, Williams became an avid fundraiser for cancer research and sat on several boards for cancer groups throughout the country, including the Board of Directors for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

He also was a motivational speaker, often addressing groups on leadership, teamwork and the mental challenge that comes after being diagnosed with cancer, among other topics.

Williams was born in Philadelphia and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. He was honored with the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a member of the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame, the Magic’s Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class in 2014, and the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.

“The Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award was created to honor colleagues like Pat Williams who has demonstrated his enthusiasm for the game of basketball throughout his life,” Hall of Fame Chairman Jerry Colangelo said in 2012, when Williams received the honor. “Pat not only made a major impact in his leadership to cultivate the Chicago Bulls organization and bring a championship to the Philadelphia 76ers, but he invested an incredible effort to bring a successful franchise to Central Florida.”

Williams is survived by his wife Ruth and 19 children, 14 of whom they adopted from foreign countries.

“Pat forever changed the sports landscape in Orlando,” DeVos and Martins said. “He shined a light on what those who called Orlando home already knew — that Central Florida was a fabulous place to live, work and play. We all owe him a debt of gratitude and he will certainly be missed, but never forgotten.”

The Celebration of Life service will be held at First Baptist Orlando, 3000 S John Young Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32805 on Friday, July 26 at 3:00 pm. A live stream link will also be made available.