Cody Williams hopes to follow his brother Jalen’s footsteps and become top NBA Draft pick

There’s a new name to behold in future mock drafts but with a familiar last name who is already rocking college basketball courts. We are talking about Cody Williams, who is Thunder forward Jalen’s brother, as he’s impressing fans and experts during his freshman campaign in Colorado. 

Believe it or not, the youngster is already one of the main candidates to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft this summer. Analyst David Cobb, for example, already has him placed as No. 6 in his recent prediction.

His current coach Tad Boyle can see the resemblance between two siblings. “His upside is undeniable,” he told the press. “That fact that he’s the younger brother of Jalen, who has had a tremendous impact early in his NBA career. They come from the same family, have the same body type and they’re wonderful people with humility and work ethic. You know that he’s going to keep getting better and better.”

Cody Williams Top NBA Draft Pick: Colorado Player Expected #1 #GoBuffshttps://t.co/icveDPnCw1

— OOBG Magazine (@oobgmagazine) March 1, 2024

Cody’s next objective is only weeks away, as he’s set to shine in this year’s NCAA Tournament. According to CBS Sports latest Bracketology by Jerry Palm, the Buffaloes are expected to reach the semifinals. Colorado are only three games away from traveling to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament.

Despite the four-year gap between both brothers, Cody has always been close enough in age to witness Jalen’s development, as well his draft process. The NBA professional played three seasons at Santa Clara and was ranked as a three-star recruit before making the Draft in 2022.

He ended up being picked as the 12th overall by Oklahoma City. “Being the younger brother, (I) kinda had to follow in his footsteps in terms of going to all of his practices because my parents were working late,” Cody shared. “So the big thing was being with him 24/7 when he’s in the gym and learning from him. He was kicking my butt throughout the years growing up. … I got my mentality from him because he wasn’t recruited heavily at all as he should’ve been.”

The Williams pair are close to making history as they would join an elite club of siblings who’ve been drafted in the first round of the NBA selection. Last summer, Ausar and Amen Thompson became the first to be chosen in the top 10 of the same process.

His brother Jalen hopes to keep mentoring Cody in his dreams of developing into an NBA player

The Thunder forward revealed that his relationship with his younger brother has gotten much stronger in the past years, as Cody has been following his footsteps and let the eldest mentor him through the process.

“That brought us closer together and allowed me to mentor him there,” Jalen shared. “That’s kinda why I think he has a head start with a lot of it because he’s been working out with me for so long and doing a lot of the same stuff I was doing. … We had a lot of fun doing it, too. We have a lot of good memories of us kinda getting stranded in the court and having to just sit there for hours and wait for our parents to pick us up while we played basketball.”

Another possibility is how they could end up playing for the same team, maybe even Oklahoma City if they play their cards right. According to the younger sibling, they’ve always joked around about the possibility of teaming up together in the NBA.

“We always used to joke that the one way we would be able to play on the same team is if we were in the NBA,” Cody said. “We have been saying that since I was like 8 (years old) and he was 11 or 12. Now, that could actually be a reality. Sadly we haven’t been able to play together, but hopefully soon. … We are both achieving our dreams and competing at the highest level and doing something we love.”