Fresh off a multi-million dollar extension, the Duke product must anchor the paint and fend off rising lottery talents to solidify his future in the Suns' rotation.
The center position standing is one of the pillar questions surrounding the Phoenix Suns heading into the new season, with Mark Williams serving as the incumbent starting player.
Williams, 24, is coming off of a three-year, $38 million contract agreement with the Suns in the offseason. The second-year Sun is now coming into the campaign with high hopes to expand on a successful season in Phoenix.
Follow expectations for Williams, an area he needs to improve in, and a key storyline for his fit on the team below.
Reasonable Expectations for Williams This Season
Williams is coming off of a career-high 60 games played in 2025-26. His production also took a major dip in correspondence with the increase in game volume.
All in all, it's reasonable to expect the Duke product to thrive in Phoenix's reshuffled ecosystem. The 7-footer should average double figure scoring numbers, as well as approaching 10 rebounds, and hovering around a block a game.
Also expect the center to play around 60 games this season - and perhaps more - although this isn't the historical precedent.
Area of Improvement for Williams
While Williams excels in many areas, he needs to take a step forward as both a rim protector and rebounder.
The focus here is ultimately on rebounding, as the metrics don't love him as on offensive glass despite averaging 3.1 rebounds on this end. The baseline for his raw rebounding numbers should be in the range of 10 per contest (such as in 2024-25). Just how high his ceiling is in this avenue is a very real concern in the season ahead for Williams.
As a rim protector, Williams excels in generating deflections and blocking shots (relatively speaking), but isn't quite as versatile as one would hope.
Will Khaman Maluach Challenge Williams in Rotation?
Williams is heading into the year as Phoenix's definitive starting center, but the presence of fellow duke alum Maluach opens the door for possible controversy this season.
There's a fairly reasonable chance that Maluach will receive starts (and more opportunities) to prove he is taking major leaps as a player. Beyond this, third-year center Oso Ighodaro is also working towards finding a long-term positional fit in Phoenix's rotation.
The questions are valid ones, although Williams completely ceding his role as a starting player is unlikely this season.
Williams' second season as a Sun tips off on October 5 in preseason play.
