Ziaire Williams has made an incredible impact with the Brooklyn Nets through his first five games of the 2024-25 season. Williams' efforts have earned him high praise, and his contributions are eerily similar to former Nets building block Mikal Bridges.
The Nets made a blockbuster move in June of 2024 when they traded Bridges to the New York Knicks for assets that included five first-round picks. Brooklyn got a major haul for the forward, but New York had to pay a big price due to Bridges' stellar two-way ability.
When Bridges joined the Nets in February of 2023, he had racked up an All-Defensive First Team honor and averaged a career-high 17.2 points per game. That scoring mark jumped to 26.1 during his first stint with Brooklyn and the last half of the 2022-23 season. However, Bridges did not fully live up to the hype in 2023-24.
Once things aligned for Brooklyn, they pulled the trigger on a rebuild and parted ways with Bridges.
Enter Ziaire Williams.
Three-pointers and steals tell a big story
The Nets acquired Williams in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies just one month after they sent Mikal Brides to the Knicks. Williams had not quite played up to his potential in his three seasons with Memphis, but he has exceeded expectations early on with Brooklyn.
Williams' improvement in two key statistical areas gain him favor over Bridges.
During Bridges' first full and last season with the Nets, he shot 37.2 percent on his three-pointers and averaged 1.0 steals per game. His campaign was considerably strong. However, Ziaire Williams has shot a red-hot 56.7 percent from deep range and averaged 1.2 steals per game.
Of course, Bridges' and Williams' impact goes beyond three-point shooting and steals. Bridges was a considerably better all-around scorer than Williams in 2023-24, averaging 19.6 points compared to Williams' 2024-25 mark of 11.6 per game. Moreover, both players are exceptional on-ball defenders and cover plenty of ground.
At 6-foot-9, Williams has an edge over Bridges in height, but Bridges' 7-foot-1 wingspan beats Williams' 6-foot-10 measurement. It is also important to consider the roles each respective player has been tasked with on the Nets.
Bridges was seen as Brooklyn's best player and leader on both ends of the floor, while Williams has functioned as a sparkplug off the bench. That does not mean that Williams cannot rise to or exceed the level of role Bridges had with the Nets.
If Williams continues his stellar contributions, Brooklyn might move him to the starting lineup, and then, fans can really see how he stacks up to Bridges.