CHARLOTTE – Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams is listed as questionable for Thursday’s (April 2) game against his former team, the Charlotte Hornets, at Spectrum Center.
Williams played his first three NBA seasons with the Hornets before being traded to the Suns, who sent two first-round picks to Charlotte for the 7-footer from Duke.
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Before the 2025-26 season, Williams expressed his feelings for the Hornets. The Hornets had hoped to transfer him to the Los Angeles Lakers before last season’s trade deadline, but the deal was revoked because Williams failed to pass the Lakers’ physical examination.
“It’s always great to be where you need to be,” Williams said at the Suns’ media day on Sept. 24. “It’s exciting to be here. Charlotte is ultimately where I was drafted. At some point people have confidence in me, but once you trade me the first time, it’s just a matter of time before I leave. So I knew that was coming. I just want them to regret that decision every time I play.”
Williams missed Phoenix’s final 15 games with a stress reaction to the third metatarsal in his left foot. The Suns (42-33) improved to 7-8 during that stretch, losing 115-111 to the Orlando Magic on March 31, the second game of a back-to-back to begin a four-game road trip.
Williams missed the first game against the Hornets (40-36) on March 8 in Phoenix. The Suns won 111-99.
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Suns coach Jordan Ott said Williams responded well to his second 5-on-5 game in three days in Memphis on Monday.
“Looks like he’s coming out of it pretty good,” Ott said before Tuesday’s game. “That’s a good sign. He continues to improve and it looks like we’re getting there.”
Williams averaged career-highs 11.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 56 games in his first year in Phoenix after three injury-riddled years with the Hornets.
He played a total of 106 games for Charlotte. Williams, a first-round pick in the 2022 draft, averaged 12.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in three years with the Hornets.
Haywood Highsmith (right knee) and Aamir Kofi (left ankle sprain) have been ruled out for Thursday’s game. Highsmith has missed seven straight games and Coffey has missed eight straight games.
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Dillon Brooks returned in Tuesday’s loss after missing 18 straight games with a broken left hand. Brooks’ non-shooting left hand was bandaged and he scored 9 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
“Glad he’s out there,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said after the game. “Looks healthy. No hits on that one. He’s going to get all the other stuff. Good to have him out there.”
The Hornets have ruled out P.J. Hall with right ankle soreness.
Phoenix is seventh in the West, Charlotte is 10thth In the East.
With seven games left in the regular season, the Suns trail the sixth-place Houston Rockets (46-29) by 4.5 games. They are three games ahead of the eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers (39-37).
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The top six teams in each division advance to the playoffs, while teams ranked 7-10 compete in the playoffs for the seventh and eighth seeds.
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) shoots past Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the first quarter at Kia Center in Orlando on March 31, 2026.
If the playoffs begin today, the Suns will host the Clippers for the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The loser will compete with the winner of the 9-10 match for the eighth seed.
The Portland Trail Blazers (39 wins and 38 losses) are ranked ninth in the Western Conference, and the Golden State Warriors (36 wins and 39 losses) are ranked 10th.
Phoenix is 2-2 against the Clippers, 2-1 against the Trail Blazers and 1-3 against the Warriors, whose Stephen Curry is sidelined for two months with a knee injury.
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Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday that Curry could return before the end of the regular season, the Associated Press reported.
Curry recently participated in a full practice and played 5-on-5 with the Warriors.
Do you have any thoughts on the current state of the Suns? Contact Suns insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or call him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @duanerankin.
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This article originally appeared in The Arizona Republic: Suns’ roster questionable as Phoenix faces his former team
