There have been many reasons for the Phoenix Suns’ stellar 2025-26 season, but you better believe center Mark Williams played his part.
The 24-year-old is easily the best big man we’ve seen in The Valley since Deandre Ayton, and is much better than some of the other centers that have called Phoenix home.
Hornets always knew Williams could dominate when healthy
Perhaps the best development of all for the former Charlotte Hornet is the fact that he has played in a number of back-to-back games for the Suns so far this season.
This has helped them win games, but if you go back to the start of the campaign, Williams being able to go two nights in a row was far from a given and took time to actually happen.
The Hornets selected the former Duke prospect with the 15th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, so they believed in his talent from the start. This season, it’s not hard to see why.
Mark Williams has been a quality player for the Suns this season pic.twitter.com/yLB5700q7Z
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) January 21, 2026
But they never got a chance to properly see that blossoming due to the injury issues that held him back while he was in Charlotte.
Their desire to move one off him at the deadline last season with that failed trade with the Los Angeles Lakers was the Hornets cutting their losses out of necessity, and nothing else.
Had they known he would be on pace to break the career-best 44 games he posted in his final season with the Hornets (he’s already at 39), they certainly would have kept him.
Instead, it’s Phoenix who are now benefiting, although they will also face the tough decision of deciding how many to add to the player this season.
Williams may get some help from Toronto to push that number north, and the Suns will pay whatever it takes to keep him. They didn’t part with a couple of first-rounders and then let him walk.
For the Hornets, however, Williams is a player who could have helped them despite showing improvements in a different direction this season.
A decision that hurts even more considering they brought back both Josh Okogie and Jusuf Nurkic in two different deals with the Suns before getting Williams, and both players have already moved on and quietly excelled elsewhere.
This also highlights the excellent work that the Phoenix front office does, and they are quickly gaining a reputation as an organization that will bring in deals if you engage with them. Sorry Charlotte.
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