Cody Williams Sets Unwanted NBA History in Jazz Loss to Hornets

It was a brutal night all around for the Utah Jazz in their home blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets at the Delta Center, as they got run out of the building in a 95-150 blowout for their largest defeat in franchise history.

However, it wound up being an especially tough night for second-year wing Cody Williams in particular, who ended up posting an NBA record for the worst plus-minus ever recorded in league history, with a grand total of a -60 throughout the Jazz's 55-point loss.

Cody Williams just had the lowest +/- in a single game in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/6MISaa4pk1
— Real App (@realapp) January 11, 2026

Williams' record now overtakes the previous mark set by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl's -58 while with the New Orleans Pelicans at the end of the 2024-25 campaign in a 104-153 loss to the Miami Heat, with the Jazz wing now sitting just two points apart to claim that title.

On paper, the night wasn't all bad for Williams in terms of his individual counting stats. He still had 15 of the Jazz's 95 total points in his second game of the season as a starter, and did it while shooting an efficient 5-9 from the floor.

However, that of course comes with the sight for sore eyes that is the ugly plus-minus of -60, which exemplifies just how poorly this game went for Utah that now finishes as their toughest loss in over half of a century of being in the NBA.

Cody Williams Now Has NBA's Worst +/- for a Single Game

The night started off as poorly as you would expect for the Jazz, with a final box score that looks like such. Utah was dug into an early 14-45 hole after the first quarter, that was a combination of an inability to hit shots and some lackluster defense, and it turned out to be a deficit that only got worse as time went on.

The Jazz shot a collective 22.6% from three, allowed 24 makes from deep on the other end at over 40% shooting, while also letting Charlotte find their way to nine scorers in double figures, led by Tre Mann's 20 points.

Without the services of three starters in the rotation, as Lauri Markkanen, Ace Bailey, and Jusuf Nurkic were deemed out for their respective reasons, their absences were more apparent than ever, and while those available minutes did allow for an extended opportunity to come for Utah's young talent, that was also paired with the biggest blowout a Jazz team has ever seen.

Jan 10, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) looks to defend Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

Optically, -60 is not the plus-minus any player wants attached to them in the box score, but still, Williams found a way to be somewhat productive considering the implications in place, being just one of three players on the roster to score over 15 points along with Brice Sensabaugh (26) and Isaiah Collier (17).

Williams certainly isn't all to blame for the Jazz's struggles against Charlotte. If anything, it's a representation of the team's collective poor defense that was on display from start to finish against a 14-win Hornets team, ultimately allowing the most points from an opponent team than they've seen all season long.

With that in mind, things are bound to trend up for Williams moving forward. But for now, he'll be holding that bleak title of being the one to post the worst single-game plus-minus of all time.

Cheers to that, I guess.

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