Utah Jazz Increasingly Impressed With Rising Young Talent

The Utah Jazz have seen some good things from a handful of their budding young core through the first two months of the NBA season, ultimately helping lead to their better-than-anticipated 12-19 record rolling into the end of December.

But one particular name on the roster, second-year forward Cody Williams, ended up landing some significant praise from Jazz head coach Will Hardy following Utah's latest win over the San Antonio Spurs––where Hardy went on to highlight some noticeable strides that he's seen in the 2024 top-ten pick for the initial sample size of this season.

"It's not easy to do what Cody [Williams] is doing," Hardy said after Utah's win vs. the Spurs. "He's not in the rotation every night. For him to stay ready and stay focused. His approach to understanding personnel and the gameplan is elite."

"And Cody deserves a ton of credit, because for him to play those minutes tonight [vs. San Antonio], play almost 20 minutes, he ends up having six rebounds... I though his defense was tremendous."

Will Hardy on Cody Williams: It's not easy to do what Cody is doing. He's not in the rotation every night. For him to stay ready and stay focused. His approach to understanding personnel and the gameplan is elite. pic.twitter.com/UXL04HoOuS
— JP Chunga (@JP_Chunga) December 28, 2025

Cody Williams Slowly Finding His Groove

It hasn't been a perfect start for Williams in his second year pro after a really rocky rookie season. He's been in and out of the rotation, has had his moments of growing pains through the first two months, and even spent some time working in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars in order to find his footing.

Yet, as Williams has gradually begun to carve out a small role in the Jazz's rotation as a lengthy wing defender, he's been able to capitalize on those opportunities pretty nicely; so much so that it's even captured clear attention from Hardy as one of Utah's top standouts in a big win over San Antonio.

Dec 15, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Against San Antonio, it was one of Williams' best nights of the season. In 19 minutes, he had eight points on 50% shooting from the field, six rebounds, along with one assist and one steal to have a pretty complete night on both ends of the floor for the opportunity he had.

Those types of performances where he can remain intense on the defensive end and be a connecting piece offensively will only get Williams more looks in the rotation on a nightly basis, and especially as the Jazz get deeper into the season, those minutes will continue to expand.

So, while some may have already written off Williams after a slow start to his NBA career, slowly but surely, he's finding his place within the Jazz's roster, which should only continue the further we get into his sophomore campaign.

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