Williams' Torn Labrum Puts Five Months on His $38 Million
Williams tore his left labrum in an offseason workout, had surgery Thursday, and is expected to miss about five months on a fully guaranteed three-year, $38 million Suns deal.
Photo: NBA.com / Phoenix Suns. Official league headshot, 1040×760, full head.
The left shoulder failed in an offseason workout.
Williams tore his left labrum, had surgery Thursday, and is expected to miss about five months on a fully guaranteed three-year, $38 million Suns deal.
Phoenix confirmed the procedure Friday. The club’s statement calls the surgery successful and says a return timetable comes later. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro has the recovery at about five months, which points toward mid-February if the rehab holds. Camp opens in about three weeks. The regular-season opener is Oct. 21 at Portland. That calendar eats the first four months of the deal the Suns just locked in July when Williams was a restricted free agent.
Last season was the version Phoenix paid for. Sixty games. Fifty-five starts. Career high. 11.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 0.9 blocks in 23.6 minutes. The foot still got him late: a left-foot stress reaction left him in just four games after March 3. Before Phoenix, Charlotte years stacked foot, ankle, thumb, and back stops. The $38 million bet was that the 60-game stretch was the new baseline. The workout tore that timeline before the first practice.
The minutes now lean on the room that was supposed to be the cushion. Oso Ighodaro played all 82 games last season at 6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 22.0 minutes, with a +5.1 net rating on the floor and −2.5 off it. Khaman Maluach, the 10th pick in 2025, logged 8.9 minutes across 46 games as a rookie, then posted 19.5 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in four Las Vegas Summer League games. Jordan Ott already talked about Ighodaro connecting gaps and Maluach’s vertical spacing. Those lines stop being depth talk when the starting center’s shoulder is in a sling through Christmas.
Photo: NBA.com / Getty Images NBAE. Mark Williams #15 Phoenix Suns in-game still used on the league injury report, 1920×1080 landscape, full head. Never stack with the headshot.
Five months puts Williams on the other side of All-Star weekend if the clock is clean. The money is already guaranteed through 2028-29. The possession that matters for Phoenix is every night Ighodaro and Maluach have to hold the paint until that left shoulder clears.
Sources
- ESPN: Suns' Mark Williams to miss months after shoulder surgery — Shams Charania; surgery Thursday for torn left labrum; offseason workout; several months; 3-yr $38M fully guaranteed; 60 games, 11.7/8.0/0.9 in 23.6; 2025 draft-night arrival from Charlotte
- NBA.com: Suns' Mark Williams to miss extended time after shoulder surgery — Suns press release Friday; successful surgery; no set timetable; injury in offseason workout; 11.7 and 8.0 in 23.6; GettyImages-2264797273 still
- SI / OnSI: Insider on Williams return — Donnie Druin; full Suns statement quote; Gambadoro ~5 months / mid-February; Ott on Ighodaro and Maluach; camp in ~3 weeks
- Hoops Rumors: Williams undergoes shoulder surgery — Luke Adams; Gambadoro five months; Ighodaro 82 games 6.5/5.1 +5.1/−2.5 (Bobby Marks); Maluach Summer League 19.5/12.8/2.0 in 4 games; deal through 2028-29
- Reuters / Field Level Media — 24 years old; preseason Detroit Oct. 5; opener Portland Oct. 21
- Photos: NBA.com Williams 1631109; NBA.com injury still GettyImages-2264797273
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