The Phoenix Suns' newly-acquired center received a surprising ranking among the top big men in the Western Conference.
Suns' New Center Gets Surprising Ranking Among Western Conference Big Men originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Phoenix Suns entered the NBA offseason expected to make major changes to their roster and it did not take them long to do just that.
Before last season’s NBA Finals were even over, the Suns made a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets that saw them send Kevin Durant to Houston for a package centered around Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the pick used to select Khaman Maluach.
Phoenix then selected Maluach, Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea in the 2025 draft and they also landed Mark Williams in the first round of the draft in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets.
Of course, the Suns struggled mightily at the center position last season as they went through multiple rotations with players such as Bol Bol, Nick Richards, Jusuf Nurkic and Mason Plumlee, all of whom struggled,
With their addition of Maluach in the draft and Williams from the Hornets, the Suns clearly had a plan to upgrade their frontcourt this summer.
Mark Williams ranked 15th among Western Conference centers
While adding Williams looks like a solid move for the Suns, Iztok Franko did clearly does not think it was a good move as he ranked Williams as the 15th best center in the Western Conference.
Franko had Nikola Jokic ranked at the top of his list, followed by Victor Wembanyama, Ivica Zubac, Alperen Sengun and Rudy Gobert but Williams found himself at the bottom of the list, even behind two backup centers in Naz Reid and Brook Lopez.
“Another unproven big man enigma with lingering and significant injury and mobility concerns that continue to cloud his long-term outlook,” Franko wrote.
It is clear that Franko does not think that Williams is going to do much for the Suns next season due to his injury history, though when he is healthy, he is a dominant force on both ends of the court.
Last season, the 23-year-old averaged 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 60.4% from the field in 44 games in Charlotte.
Of course, Williams has never played in more than 44 games in a season in his three years in the NBA but the Suns are hopeful that will not be the case next season as he looks to prove the doubters wrong.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
