The Utah Jazz rebuild has been long and arduous. From botched tanking woes to unholy luck in the draft lottery, Jazz fans have been asked to put up with a lot. This has all been done in the hopes of acquiring blue-chip talent.
Prospects such as Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, and Isaiah Collier have been drafted through such means. Each show promises to potentially become part of the next core of Jazz greats.
However, in every rebuild, there is always a miss in the draft, or in other cases, a late bloomer. As of right now, Cody Williams is a work in progress.
With it only being his second year in the league, it’s still early to officially declare him a draft bust. The important questions are: What led Williams to this situation, and can he improve?
The Late Bloomers of Draft Classes
Williams comes from (as of right now) one of the weakest drafts the NBA has seen in a long time. Ron Holland at the fifth pick has been a great defensive pick-up for a really good Detroit team, but struggles with his scoring touch; Holland is averaging 8.6 points per game this season with a field goal percentage of 39.3%.
Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft, has only maintained his stats from last season, showing little signs of improvement this year.
The 2024 draft also holds the likes of Tidjane Salaun, who has managed to get worse in his second season. Once averaging six points a game and five rebounds his rookie year, Salaun is now only averaging three points per game with fewer than four rebounds.
With the tenth pick in 2024, the Jazz selected Williams. He’s averaging less than three points and one rebound per game this year with limited play time.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Williams was no stranger to winning early in his basketball career. In 2023, he was a McDonald’s High School All American and University of Colorado’s first five-star recruit since David Harrison.
In college, Williams achieved All-Pac-12 honors and averaged 11.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Cody Williams is going to fit right in on an NBA team next year.
He’s averaging 15.4 PTS on absurd efficiency (60 FG% & 52 3P%). He’s a great finisher and is tough to stop in transition. Has some on-ball playmaking ability at 6’9 and plays with a lot of effort on defense. pic.twitter.com/QLlOQfXuH3
— Israel (@iohandles) January 26, 2024
At one point in his college career, Williams was mocked to even be the number one pick in the 2024 draft because of his offensive efficiency. Sadly, his dream of going number one went out the window when he got injured and sat out for 13 games.
With only a year of collegiate experience under his belt and his being injured, Williams’ draft stock fell and the Jazz ended up selecting him with the tenth pick.
Expectations were still high, and Jazz fans were excited for a new rookie with promise to come to Salt Lake City. Sadly, Williams’ offense hasn’t translated to the NBA.
Cody Williams’ career high is 13 points, which he scored last season on Jan. 11, 2025. Williams played over 21 minutes in that game against the Suns.
How thin he was when he came into the league has not helped him thus far. He only weighed 178 pounds on draft day, and fans could tell. He presents offensive abilities, but fails to follow through with the lack of physicality.
Williams knows where to be and how to cut into the lane. He even knows where to move off the ball to get open shots. But when he drives into the paint or tries to play in isolation, a defender can quickly body him.
Each Williams isolation attempt usually ends with losing the ball or him passing it off.
This struggle appears to mess with his confidence, making him even more hesitant to shoot the ball when he really needs to show the Jazz front office improvement.
The Jazz were in full tank mode last year and did not put Cody Williams in the best situations to learn winning tendencies. They threw him to the wolves in the hopes he would come out triumphantly. Sadly, this wasn’t the case and probably a major factor in why his confidence is shot.
Comparisons to his brother Jalen Williams doesn’t help his ego either. With Jalen being the twelfth pick and turning into a pivotal player on a championship Thunder team, Jazz fans appear to be even more critical of Williams.
Sign of What Is to Come
Cody Williams should be looking to improve some other skills in his game. For example, he can be a defensive dynamo when given the chance. When the Jazz played the Blazers on Oct. 29, 2025, Williams became part of a nearly historic comeback effort.
On the plus-minus scale, Williams was a +15 while only playing 12 minutes that game. He and defensive specialist Elijah Harkless led the Jazz on a 16-2 run, cutting the unattainable Trailblazer lead to single digits.
He had a similar presence against the Pacers on Nov. 11. In a Jazz blowout win, Williams had a +14 plus-minus and a steal in the game.
In the blowout against the Suns on Oct. 31, he managed to score eight points and had a rebound – not an overwhelming statline, but it shows that he has the capability to score more if given the chance.
Cody Williams’ Saving Grace
Walker Kessler‘s injury will open new avenues for Williams to improve his game. Extra minutes on the court will help Cody as he continues his NBA journey.
Veterans like Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love have already helped Williams on the floor. In just a few games, fans have noticed Love pointing to spots on the floor where Williams needs to be to maximize his defensive space.
Confidence is the key to unlocking his potential. After being put in losing moments last year and not seeing his shot go down with consistency, the coaching staff needs to give Williams easy plays to run.
Anyone seeing their shot go in will receive a confidence boost. Practicing pick-and-rolls with the big guys would also be beneficial. With the big men screening, it should help him get to the bucket easier for a layup.
Fans also have to remember that he’s only in his second year, and when the Jazz picked him, they knew he would be a work in progress and were ready to dedicate the resources to help him.
Don’t Panic Yet, But Show Improvement
Jazz and NBA fans alike see where Cody Williams must improve – Williams himself seems to see this and appears to be working on it so far this season. He now weighs 190 pounds after bulking up over the summer. The Jazz hope to get him at 200 pounds in weight, a closer weight to what his brother is at.
If he can increase his weight, Williams won’t be pushed around as much on the offensive end. Added muscle could help him get to the paint easier and give him the offensive confidence he had in college when he was bigger than other players.
The G-League could also help him – he played 9 games in the league last year and he managed to average 14.6 points, 2.1 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game.
If he’s on a team where he’s the primary focus, that could help improve his game and gain much needed confidence in his game. Despite the increasing pressure, the Jazz have time to help Williams improve this year.
If players like George or Kessler can have a year-three jump, so can Williams. Anything can happen in this league. The Mavericks got the number one pick, Oklahoma City got a chip, and Williams has the chance to be a good player in the league.