Mark Williams came into the league as one of two first-round draft picks for the Charlotte Hornets. And if that wasn’t enough, the other player selected was also a big—Jalen Duren was selected two picks before him by the Hornets. Duren, who was later traded in a three-team deal involving his ultimate destination the Detroit Pistons, began his career in a decidedly different way than Williams. Duren started his career with a 14-point, 10-rebound game.
He also averaged over 20 minutes a game through the first 10 games that he played. Williams only started 17 games all season (in comparison to Duren’s 31) and didn’t consistently start playing 20+ minutes a game until midway through February.