Mark Williams has certainly had an interesting career with the Charlotte Hornets to this point. Taken with the first pick outside the lottery in 2022 out of Duke University, there was significant hype for Williams' potential as a professional, and for good reason. He came into the league with as much natural gifts and talent as any big man. His length was always going to give him the chance to become a special player.
The 2022-23 season was a promising rookie campaign for Mark, and he began to play more with the NBA club as the season went on. By the end of the year, Hornets fans were sold on him becoming the team's big man of the future. After all the trouble this franchise had gone through in terms of finding a reliable center, it looked like Williams was finally going to end that streak.
But then in his sophomore year, a back injury held him out for the final 75% of the season, as he played just 19 games total. What was supposed to be a promising second year turned into a disappointment. He of course then missed a significant chunk of the current season with a different injury.
Given the injury troubles to begin his career, it is no surprise that Williams has not yet reached the potential of what he can eventually become. Given proper time, he can still reach the level of a monster rim protector and overall defensive stalwart. Recently, CLTure's James Plowright brought out some telling defensive metrics and used them to show us where Mark has both improved and regressed most as a defender in his three years in Charlotte.
I dove into Mark Williams' career defensive stats to pinpoint where the biggest drop-off has occurred
— James Plowright (@British_Buzz) March 14, 2025
What’s interesting? He’s been stronger protecting the rim and defending ball handlers, but has struggled more against isolation plays, role men, and perimeter shooters. pic.twitter.com/iiZKFOpq1s
Williams has improved defending the rim, regressed in P&R
The chart he posted depicts the shooting percentages of Williams' opponents in various scenarios, broken down by season. According to the numbers, Mark has shown some significant improvement in a few areas. He has made a big improvement in defending ball handlers, only allowing 39% shooting in this area. And after a slight regression in defending the rim last season, more reps have allowed him to tighten up in this category as well.
Where Williams has been trending down the most is defending in isolation. After giving up 32% in iso scenarios his rookie season, Mark gave up 50% shooting last year and is surrendering 59% efficiency in 2024-25. He has also seen a notable drop-off in guarding on catch-and-shoot plays, as well as defending the roll man in pick-and-roll.
These stats give us a solid understanding of where Williams is currently at defensively from a big-picture perspective. There are several reasons why it is understandable for him to still be a work in progress, and the blueprint for Mark to become a truly game-changing defender for the Hornets is still there. With a proper offseason under his belt, next season could be the year we finally see him take that fabled leap.