2022 NBA Draft Breakdown - Mark Williams
Duke center that showed out at the Combine. Has Mark Williams moved into the lottery?
After a brief hiatus, I’m back for the next edition of the 2022 NBA Draft Breakdown series, looking at Duke center Mark Williams, someone who displayed a tremendous frame at the NBA Combine.
Standing at 7-foot-2 in shoes at 242 pounds, Williams also boasts a 7-foot-6.5 wingspan and a hilariously long 9-foot-9 standing reach, 4 inches greater than the next-highest player who tested (Auburn’s Walker Kessler and Arizona’s Christian Koloko; the highest standing reach recorded at the G League Elite Camp was 9 feet flat, for comparison). Williams’ 5.4% body fat is lower than most other players who tested at either the combine or the G League Elite Camp.
Of course, physicality isn’t everything, but Williams has the numbers to back up a potential lottery selection. Williams averaged 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and a whopping 2.8 blocks in his sophomore season, ranking fourth among all NCAA D1 players in stocks and blocks. Williams only played about 23 minutes per game last season, putting him at 4.8 blocks per 40 minutes, an absolutely ridiculous figure.
Williams has a clear-defined role in the league as a rim-running center that swats shots on the other end. What separates Williams from other players is his timing on blocking shots, rarely biting on pump fakes from guards and being able to get to his spot right on time. I also love the way Williams moves on the defensive end. All too often, centers that hedge give up on a play and don’t shuffle back to the rim or get back into action, but Williams does the exact opposite, putting himself right back into the thick of the play and not allowing himself to get burned.
Williams is the exact center you can anchor a defense around, especially when watching how he alters players from taking shots or drives, much like top draft prospect Chet Holmgren. I got a chance to watch Williams in Cameron Indoor Stadium this year and in PNC Arena last year and he altered so many potential shots. The Duke product is also particularly efficient in drop coverage.
On the offensive end, Williams is a powerful dunker and leaper that gets above the rim with ease and is going to be a favorite of whatever point guard he ends up getting paired with for their ability to finish some nasty lobs. According to Adam Spinella, Williams shot a ridiculously high 81% field-goal percentage on cuts, something his elite athleticism portends. On two-point field goals, Williams shot 72.3%, the third-highest mark in the draft class. Williams is phenomenal as a roll man, something else point guards will thank him for.
Despite all the great things shown at the collegiate level, Williams has a ton he needs to work on in the NBA. Outside of his ability to dominate the rim, Williams doesn’t have any offensive game whatsoever away from the basket, something that sets him miles away from some elite centers I have scouted in recent years, like Evan Mobley. Though, to be fair, I believe Mobley to be a generational prospect. Like many other young centers, Williams gets into foul trouble all too often, averaging 2.1 in 23.6 minutes per game and has some familiar but ugly tendencies in terms of being overly aggressive and hacking at players in a manner that will be called flagrant at the next level.
With Williams’ elite physical toolset and domineering game on the interior, I think Williams is a safe bet to go top 15 in this class. In particular, the Charlotte Hornets seem to be the perfect landing spot. Landing in Charlotte would allow for Williams to immediately step into a huge role, potentially as the starting center, and his numbers would almost immediately be great due to the playmaking ability of LaMelo Ball, as well as all the other guards, wings and forwards Charlotte has that can move the rock. I wouldn’t be mad if Charlotte took Williams at either pick No. 13 or 15, but I wouldn’t draft Williams higher than 13 if I was a general manager.