The duality of Mark Williams as a member of the Phoenix Suns is a fascinating one, but he is more than deserving of the fifth spot on this list.
The 24-year-old turning in his best season as a professional in his first campaign in The Valley, and the franchise will hope that the best is yet to come and that he can be their center anchor for the foreseeable future.
Williams easily became Suns’ best big man since Deandre Ayton
The bar was low for the former Charlotte Hornet to clear, both from a personal perspective and that of the organization, and yet he passed with flying colors. His 60 games played marked a career high, and if anything being unavailable for their playoff series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder only improved his stock in Phoenix. The Suns likely still would have been swept, but their lack of size in the wake of Williams being out through injury was telling.
When on the court Williams was able to use his size on both ends to make life easier for his teammates, and the Suns finishing ninth in defensive rating (x) was in part because of his impact.
Number 10 -Â Jamaree Bouyea took his NBA career off life support
Number 9 -Â Brian Gregory banished the 'Michigan Guy' tag
Number 8 -Â Grayson Allen finally fulfilled his destiny in Phoenix
Number 7Â -Â Jordan Ott came along at the perfect time for the Suns
Number 6 - Oso Ighodaro finally found his groove in Phoenix
He is a traditional center and that comes with both positives and negatives, but being able to co-exist with Devin Booker and Collin Gillespie helped power this team to 45 wins and a playoff appearance.
Looking big picture and perhaps bringing him back on a three-year, $38 million deal will end up being a mistake. Khaman Maluach is already making notable strides while Oso Ighodaro also found his groove in his sophomore campaign. But purely from the perspective of 2025-26, the addition of Williams was a smart one. He immediately made the inferior Nick Williams expendable, and was leagues better than Jusuf Nurkic.
He’s not on the same level as Deandre Ayton was at his peak in Phoenix, but he’s a more dependable and consistent contributor.
Which is what the Suns needed as they defied expectations and made the postseason, and playing Williams a little less each night (and in turn failing to register a double-double as he did the previous season) was what got him there.
The drop off from Williams to the next center was also significant, and if not for his injury woes he would be a top 10 big man in the NBA today. He probably never will be, but for large parts of last season he was more than enough for the Suns to win regular season games.
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