The Eye Test: Mark Williams' Quest for NBA Viability

Staking an NBA claim from the sidelines is tough sledding. As the Charlotte Hornets hope individual health and team success will finally intersect, Williams' future poses more questions than answers.

Through no fault of his own, the clock is ticking for Mark Williams.

While Jalen Duren's star burns bright, Williams has struggled to get the reps necessary to find his footing as a starting big. Nevertheless, the 2022 draft contemporaries are on a level playing field, with the major differentiator being playing basketball. Availability has been Mark's biggest hurdle. Branding his 2024-25 campaign a make or break season may be hyperbolic, but extension season draws near. Demanding a sizeable second contract requires a compelling body of work. At this juncture, 62 total games played in his rookie and sophomore seasons fails to evince any confidence from his Hornets’ overseers.

Williams' 19 game stretch last season gave plenty of reasons for optimism. He is one of the most physically imposing bigs in the NBA by default. A strong lower base with a 7'7" wingspan is one hell of a starting point. While his defense remains a work in progress, he poses to be a toolsy backline deterrent who can hold his own away from the rim (with a few refinements). On the other end, he is already an imposing force as a rim runner. Let’s dive in.

Offense

Finishing On The Roll

Charlotte's hunt for an ideal Pick & Roll ("PNR") partner for LaMelo is officially over. Mark is a distinctive rolling target with a wide catch radius. He exhibits incredible hands - both in mid-air with full extension as well as catching in a stance at the nail. Williams pairs soft touch with verticality off lobs, as displayed below with touch-finishes over a defender at the peak of his jump. An ability to corral a wayward pass or simply out-reach his man to finish over the top gives LaMelo additional bail-out options, which is crucial in scenarios where he leaves his feet prematurely.

Williams has the towering size, the upward vertical, and the natural coordination to divert attention away from LaMelo when rolling to the basket. There remains plenty of real estate to be explored between the two as a PNR duo. 

Offensive Rebounding

Mark is an absolute workhorse on the offensive glass who combines base strength with vertical burst. He typically baseline crashes at opportune times by reading the help to a T. His 16.3% Offensive Rebounding Percentage in 2023-24 would have ranked second in the NBA among qualifying players. Outside of Mitchell Robinson and Clint Capela, Williams' board work when cleaning up his teammates' misses was unrivalled. It is rare to find such an elite putback artist at the age of 22.

Operating In The Dunker's Spot

When he is not involved in the offensive action as a screen setter, Mark is optimized being parked in the dunker’s spot. Rather than sitting idle, his positioning measures up with the best. He has a firm grasp of when to wheel off dribble penetration or stay put while waiting for his man to commit to the driver. He executes high-low principles on the fly, frequently relocating and sitting in the pocket to procure the passing angle. Most importantly, Williams can either catch it high as a vertical spacer, or receive a dump off and explode upward.

Touch from Floater Range 

Missing the majority of last season meant there are aspects to Williams' individual offense that are yet to be fully harnessed. Contrary to what the efficiency (37.8%) may suggest, he has flashed great touch from floater range. The push-shot in the upper paint is not yet fully embedded in his arsenal, but developing his touch out to 10 feet will grease the wheels for diversifying his offensive repertoire.

Transition Finishes

While one of the more infrequent facets of his game, Mark is not averse to running in the open floor before a defense is set. North to south speed is not exactly his forte, but he find ways to sporadically wreak havoc on the inner channels in transition.

Deep Seals & Slipping As a Screener

There remains more for Mark to explore in the form of diving off away screens and exploiting switches on deep seals. Creativity, as well as timely recognition, as a screener will go a long way in sprucing up Williams' offense. Although continued exposure to NBA coverages is imperative.

Defense

Mark projects to be a formidable defensive anchor with more experience and some minor tweaks. While he can have tunnel vision in spurts away from the ball, the underlying help instincts are encouraging. He is not completely culpable in that regard. Perimeter resistance is the first port of call, and he can only do so much functionally covering two at any given time. Charlotte's rotations last year were piecemeal at the best of times. A new scheme with the same personnel (and better health) should implement better defensive cohesion - stymying ball handlers on perimeter actions and in turn counteracting rim pressure. Stout defense on the outside will reduce Mark's individual positional burden. Charles Lee may be the perfect figurehead to enact change.

Pick & Roll Defense - Drop Coverage

In his limited NBA sample, Williams has habitually deployed deep drop coverage as the low man in PNR actions. As a result, he can fall prone to conceding the elbow jumper and relying on his teammate guarding the ball handler to fight over the screen.

Pick & Roll Defense - At The Level Of The Screen

Mark has intermittently ventured beyond drop coverage by switching and meeting the ball handler as he turns the corner. While he is not equipped with the requisite lateral mobility to match guards step for step, the presence of mind to play up high or jump-switch is encouraging. The more familiar he grows with playing out in space over time, the more malleable he will become as a defender. At this stage he can, at the very least, cover ground when retreating or backpedaling.

Switch Defense

Switching on to guards and wings alike is a tall order for anyone with Williams' physical profile. However, the outcomes have cut both ways. Despite giving up his fair share of blow bys, Mark has had plenty of moments leveraging his wingspan and changing direction on the backfoot. He may not be the most fluid mover, but he fights to contest from behind even when a step slow.

Committing Too Far Away From The Ball

Williams can fall victim to grossly overcommitting defensively. Although he is largely set up for failure. The Hornets' defensive infrastructure has not exactly been a paragon of discipline and cohesion. As a 5-man, Mark plays the highest leverage position on that end of the floor. It will often fall on his shoulders to plug holes, fill gaps and clean up the mistakes of others. Accordingly, shading too high or low on help-side and over-pursuing PNR ball handlers a step too far is a natural consequence of being heavily encumbered on the backline. These are fixable mistakes that should fizzle out once Charlotte's ball pressure at the point of attack improves.

What Is To Come?

Mark Williams' breakout as a first-rate big is imminent, provided he is wearing a Hornets jersey more often than items from his own wardrobe in 2024-25. He has all the outlines of the perfect low-man for LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. The overarching question is whether availability and consistency will finally converge for the star-crossed young core.