How Mark and Elizabeth Williams stand out as siblings in the NBA/WNBA

After his tremendous effort during the Charlotte Hornets’ 125-123 win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, Hornets center Mark Williams has continued to thrust himself into the national spotlight. 

While it is his impressive play that is earning him the most recognition, some Hornets may not know that his sister, Elizabeth Williams, also plays professional basketball for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA. Elizabeth was in attendance on Friday as her brother scored 19 points while also bringing down 19 rebounds. 

The siblings are just one of two brother-sister duos (Amir and Nia Coffey) that play in the NBA and WNBA. The two are also the second pair of siblings (Anthony and Candace Parker) to have been drafted in the first round of each league.

If Williams continues to play the way he has in recent games, he will be one of the league’s most dominant big men. Over the past three games, he is averaging 24.7 points, 16 rebounds and one block per game. 

The 7-foot and 240-pound center was the Hornets’ first-round selection in 2022 after spending two seasons at Duke. As a Blue Devil, Williams was the 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year while finishing with 142 career blocks (seventh most in program history).

 With that being said, his sister is a WNBA veteran with a much more accomplished career up to this point. Williams has the sixth-most blocks in WNBA history (third most among active players) and was a WNBA All-Star selection in 2017. Defensive dominance must run in the family, because she is a two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection, and was a four-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

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