After blossoming late last season as a rookie starter for 17 games, Charlotte Hornets center and former two-year Duke basketball center Mark Williams has locked up that starting spot as a second-year NBA player.
He's had a couple of lackluster outings in Hornets losses this season. But the 21-year-old Williams, who went No. 15 overall to the Hornets at the 2022 NBA Draft following his two years in Durham, has been impressive in Charlotte's two wins.
On Saturday night, Mark Williams recorded a career-high 27 points in a 125-124 road victory over the Indiana Pacers.
And he did so efficiently, shooting 9-for-12 from the field and 9-for-9 at the charity stripe in his 30 minutes on the floor, adding seven rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks.
Through five games this season and despite one two-point outing, the 7-foot-1, 240-pound Virginia native is averaging 13.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks while shooting 76.5 percent from the field and 85.0 percent at the line.
Williams and the Hornets (2-3) now travel to take on the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
The Mavericks (4-1) boast three former Blue Devils: Seth Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Williams' successor down low in Durham, now-rookie big man Dereck Lively II.
Lively, along with Irving, are starters for Dallas. So, the matchup between Lively and Williams should highlight Duke basketball's prowess lately in producing promising young NBA 7-footers.
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