PHOENIX — When the Suns first traded for center Mark Williams during the 2025 NBA Draft, the most important key to his success in Phoenix immediately became his health.
After all, it’s the poor previous track record of health (106 games played over his first three seasons) that led the Los Angeles Lakers to rescind a February 2025 trade to acquire Williams once they could perform a physical.
Phoenix was aware of those issues, but general manager Brian Gregory was very confident ahead of the season that the Suns would manage Williams’ body better than previous teams had. To this point, they have.
Williams has played 47 games, already breaking last year’s then-career high for a season of 44. There are still 30 contests left.
Four of the games he missed were proactively built in for knee management in back-to-back pairings, and the other was a one-game suspension for an altercation involving New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado.
“Major win for him,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said of Williams’ positive turn. “I think when you first come here and you hear about the plan of no basketball, I think that’s tough for a basketball player, so major win for him.
“He’s such a mature adult that he owns his own development. He knew this was a big piece. It was a big piece to this year, and he’s superseded any expectation we’ve had for him, not only as being available but as a player, and we’re so excited to see what’s next.”
The coach added that because of the success in staying healthy so far, it gets everyone in the building even more geared up for what it could look like when the 24-year-old Williams has a full offseason to continue growing.
“It’s really a testament to what he did this summer every day in here without being actually on the basketball court,” Ott said.
Jalen Green’s injury luck polar opposite from Mark Williams
When Jalen Green was acquired via trade in the same offseason, his track record of health was very different from Williams. That was a large part of the appeal, as he was taking the place of oft-injured Bradley Beal in Phoenix.
Largely due to a nagging hamstring issue, Green has already clinched a career low in games played for a season (five played with 30 remaining). He played 67 games as a rookie, and he’s missed only six games across the three regular seasons since, all coming in 2022-23.
Green has played in one game since exiting a loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 23 with “precautionary right hamstring tightness.” He came off the bench on Jan. 30 to play 16 minutes before exiting with a hip contusion.
Both the hamstring and hip have been listed on the injury reports for the three games he’s missed since.
Ott said he’s handled it well, despite how missing so many games can feel unusual for someone with a bill of health like Green’s.
“He does have like a youthfulness to him, himself, that I think helps him on some of these down days where he never really feels how down he is. And now that the end is in sight, like he can feel that he’s very close,” the coach said.
Green is still considered day-to-day for now — as is Devin Booker (ankle) — but there’s been an extra element of momentum now that he’s back on the court and trending toward playing.
“When he steps on the court, everyone feels kind of who he is,” Ott said. “That’s the exciting part is when he gets out there, everyone feels it just by him being out there and in the jersey.”