BIOGRAPHY
Mark Williams was born December 16, 2001 in Norfolk, Virginia. He is a power forward in the NBA.
Williams began his high school basketball career at Norfolk Academy. He was invited to the NBA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, Virginia in the summer of 2018. Williams passed the 1,000 point threshold in February 2019. As a junior, he averaged 19.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game to help the Bulldogs reach the VISAA state tournament. He was selected to the USA Today All-USA Virginia Boys Basketball second team. During the 2019 Nike EYBL, Williams averaged 14.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, while shooting 63.8% from the floor. During the Nike Peach Jam in July 2019, Williams averaged 23.5 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 76.0 percent in two games for the Boo Williams program. Coming into his senior season, he transferred to IMG Academy, which finished the previous season as the GEICO Nationals champions. Williams was named a 2020 McDonald's All-American. On January 31, 2020, he posted 19 points and 16 rebounds in a 64–62 win over Hillcrest Prep.
Williams was considered a five-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals, and a four-star recruit by ESPN. On November 1, 2019, he committed to playing college basketball for Duke, choosing the Blue Devils. Before the start of the season, Williams was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award preseason watch list. Williams was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year as well as Third Team All-ACC as a sophomore. As a sophomore, he averaged 11.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. On April 18, 2022, Williams declared for the 2022 NBA Draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
Williams was selected in the 2022 NBA draft with the 15th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets.
