The Phoenix Suns have received a huge blow and the season has not even started yet. According to the Associated Press on Friday, center Mark Williams of Norfolk, Virginia will be out long term with a torn labrum.
One must wonder how Williams suffered the injury. According to nba.com, it was during an offseason workout. The expected time he will be out for is several months. That means we are probably looking to around after the National Basketball Association All-Star Game which Phoenix is hosting in February when we will see Williams again.
Williams played his first season with the Suns in 2025-26 after three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. H was traded from Charlotte to Phoenix with a second round pick in 2029 for small forward Liam McNeeley of Richardson, Texas, point guard Vasilije Micic of Kraljevo, Serbia, and a first round pick in 2029.
In 2025-26, Williams averaged 11.7 points per game, eight rebounds per game, and one assist per game. He had a field goal percentage of .644, three point percentage of 1.000, and a free throw percentage of .771.
Williams made the first three-point shot of his career this past season. It came on December 8, in a 108-105 Suns win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Williams’s shot went 23 feet from Canadian Dillon Brooks and put the Suns up 64-57 at the time. The shot from downtown was the first made basket of the second half and came 53 seconds into the third quarter.
It will now be interesting to see if the Suns test the market to upgrade the center position. Next on the Suns depth chart at center is Oso Ighodaro of Mesa, Arizona. However, Ighodaro could be considered more of a power forward than center.
