A New Sports Star in Boulder: Colorado's Cody Williams Continues to Climb NBA Draft Boards

There's a top five pick at Colorado, and he doesn't play for Deion Sanders.

© Chet Strange-USA TODAY Sports

Much of the start of the 2023 college football season was spent on the University of Colorado football team and its culture, built by Hall of Fame defensive back-turned-college-coach Deion Sanders.

60 Minutes interviewed the controversial yet charismatic leader. Boulder hosted College Football Game Day (twice), and the nation's eyes were on the sports culture of a small college town in Colorado. 

Yet on the same campus resides a team that has seen significantly more success this season than even Deion's swagged-out football squad – Tad Boyle's Colorado basketball team.

Starring a host of talented players, including guard KJ Simpson (third-leading scorer in the conference as of Jan. 24), forward Tristan da Silva (considered by many to be a late-first, early-second round pick), and of course, the object of this piece, star wing Cody Williams. The Buffaloes are winners of four straight, are undefeated at home, and hold a six-win, three-loss record (6-3) in the last year of the Pac-12 Conference.

Cody Williams / © Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Cody Williams is in a basketball bloodline as the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder and Santa Clara forward Jalen Williams, a player whose NBA career has taken off to bonafide stardom with OKC. 

Cody, a wing with a point-forward's toolkit, has flown up draft boards in recent weeks with dazzling performances, including Tuesday night's banger against Washington, where he starred with 23 points on 70% field goal shooting, including 2-of-3 from three, and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. 

In seven of his last 10 games played, he's scored 16 or more points. He's scoring with extreme efficiency as well – he's in the 96th percentile at an absurd 1.32 points per shot, according to Synergy Sports, 

Williams can score in a myriad of ways. He has a good enough handle to attack the basket from the perimeter and effectively attack closeouts. He has also demonstrated the ability to score without the ball by cutting to the basket, finding himself in a great position under the basket to score off of a good read. 

On top of the offensive output, the defense is there, too. He impacts the game in so many ways that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet, including tipping passes, swarming guys at the rim using his great length, and getting "hockey" assists. 

© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

As far as play comparisons go, it's hard to pin one down in particular for Williams. There are shades of other point forwards like Lamar Odom, and even a bit of Saddiq Bey, for example. But in evaluating Williams, one has to take into account the natural flow with which he plays, which may be the singular biggest upside he possesses. 

As a secondary ball handler, he doesn't force things offensively. He lets the floor develop before going to his reads, and just has an innate feel for when to do so. It's something that can't be taught, and something his older brother possesses as well. 

The downsides are fewer and further between – mostly, his primary flaw is that he lacks explosive athleticism (as well as physical strength) that often takes these dynamic wing players over the top. This particular weakness limits his upside a bit, possibly lowering Williams' ceiling as a superstar NBA small forward. 

Still, the skillset he has right now is good enough to land him in the top five of the 2024 NBA Draft. If his shooting volume on threes increases and maintains a similar trajectory (1.1-of-2.1 3PA/game), he could legitimately compete for pick number one. 

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