Mark Williams is now a Los Angeles Lakers player, as the franchise traded for him on Wednesday night. He already sent a message of love to the franchise and its fanbase. But it appears he has been admiring one member of their team for years right now. In 2022, Williams spoke about LeBron James and called him the greatest player of all time in an interview.
“My GOAT is LeBron James. The hype he had coming from high school… He’s lived up to all those expectations and more.”
What makes Williams’ comments even more interesting is the fact that he was speaking as a drafted rookie of the Charlotte Hornets. At the time of his comments, the Hornets were still under the majority ownership of Michael Jordan, the player many consider to be LeBron’s rival in the GOAT debate.
Of course, Williams didn’t face any kind of serious consequences for his comments. But his time with the Hornets is now in the past. Going forward, he will don the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers, and play alongside LeBron James going forward.
Williams is a solid acquisition for the Lakers, but one that comes with some question marks. He has played just 53 games in his first two seasons because he struggled massively with injuries. He made his return to the court after a lengthy absence this season, and since then, he has been playing really well.
For the season, Williams is averaging 15.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 58.6% from the field and 78.0% from the free-throw line. This level of performance is really solid, not just for a player returning from injury, but for a player representing a team as poor as the Charlotte Hornets.
Williams Will Improve With The Lakers
Mark Williams’ numbers right now are pretty strong. But on the Lakers, it is almost a guarantee that he will improve. Luka Doncic and LeBron James are notorious for helping their teammates improve on the court. Doncic especially is great at elevating big men that he plays with.
Daniel Gafford played some of the best basketball of his career after joining the Dallas Mavericks at the trade deadline last season. And Dereck Lively II experienced a very strong rookie season with the Mavericks with Doncic leading the team. One can expect when Doncic gels with the Lakers, he will end up positively impacting Williams very quickly.
Williams is on a strong run of form, averaging 20.0 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 56.2% from the field and 75.0% from the free-throw line across his last 10 games.
However, he hasn’t been perfect and was criticized by a Hornets announcer just this past week for his lack of effort on the court. He is going to have to increase his level of effort going forward if he wants to find success with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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