Thanks to an unexpected first nine picks in the NBA Draft, the Jazz got their preferred player at No. 10.
Colorado forward Cody Williams was selected with the 10th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday evening. Williams is the reward for the Jazz after a difficult season in which they went 31-51 during the regular season, falling short of the Play-In tournament by 15 wins.
Williams, brother of Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, scored 11.9 points, dished 1.9 assists, and collected 3.0 rebounds per game for the Buffaloes last season. But most draft prognosticators believed he’d be selected before the draft rolled around to Danny Ainge and the Jazz’s front office.
Considered the fifth best player in the 2023 high school class, Williams was one of the most significant recruiting wins in Colorado history a year ago. As a freshman, though, Williams was the Buffaloes’ third-leading scorer, usually playing a smaller role next to Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson.
Cody Williams is taller, but skinnier than his brother, and will need to get significantly stronger to defend and compete on the boards at the NBA level. He can drive and makes good decisions in the half court, and showed promise defensively as a freshman — though didn’t put up the blocks and steals numbers other top defensive prospects did.
Williams projects to be the kind of switchable forward who keeps the offensive end going as well. That type of player has proven to be one of the most valuable in the NBA playoffs.
Here’s what we wrote about Williams last week:
“Cody Williams is actually taller than his brother, standing at a full 6-8. He certainly needs to strengthen and bulk up, but at just 19 years old, there should be a runway for him to do that. He was a solid defender — not a defensive playmaker, necessarily, but a guy who could usually stay in front. He shot the ball well from three (41%), but took only 41 threes all season. He’ll need to shoot drastically more often from there in the NBA; there is a significant risk that the percentage is simply small sample size theater.
“What I like most about Williams is how well he fits in. So many college players, especially ones as lauded as Williams, tend to make the game about them. Williams didn’t, and I think he’ll be able to grow within a scheme. I don’t expect him to ever be a 20-point-per-game guy in the NBA — though it’s possible — but that’s OK. When you’re in this draft, getting players who can shoot, pass, dribble, and defend to even a decent degree is a win.”
This story will be updated.
