The 2025-26 NBA season provided a lot of experience for a Portland Trail Blazers team starting to make their push into the NBA Playoffs. Throughout the season, Portland was able to weather injuries and overcome slumps from deep to make its first postseason appearance since the 2020-21 NBA season. Once there, one of the biggest jumps in production came off the bench, and that player is the focus of today’s season recap: Robert Williams III.
Season Stats
- Minutes: 17.1
- Points: 6.7
- Rebounds: 7.0
- Assists: 1.0
- FG: 70.8%
- 3PT: 39.1%
- Blocks: 1.5
- Steals: 0.6
- Turnovers: 0.8
Other Standout Stats
- In the playoffs, Williams improved his averages to 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 21.6 minutes per game. His consistent play off the bench in the series was a significant factor in Portland’s Game 2 win, and he gave good stretches throughout the series.
- The stat that had the biggest impact on Williams’ season was his 59 games played. Williams played just 26 total games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons after being brought over in the aftermath of the Damian Lillard trade. His availability this season was a pleasant surprise and allowed the center rotation of Williams and Donovan Clingan to provide a consistent look for Portland.
- Williams averaged 2.4 offensive rebounds per game this season, contributing to the Blazers’ second-place finish in the NBA in that category this season. Williams was 10th in the NBA with 5.0 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes played.
Change Year-Over-Year
It’s tough to evaluate Williams’ year-over-year change given
his injury history. As I mentioned earlier, he played just 26 games in a Blazers uniform prior to this season. With such a small sample size, it is difficult to draw any major conclusions from how he performed this season compared to prior years. However, even with a limited sample size to pull from, Williams improved in a couple of key categories.
- His points per game increased from 5.8 last season to 6.7 this year, and his rebounds increased from 5.9 to 7.0 per game. This was despite a slight decrease in minutes from 17.6 to 17.1 this season.
- The biggest improvement was in field goal percentage, where Williams shot 70.8% from the field this season, way up from 64.1% last year. He also improved his three-point percentage from 33.3% to 39.1% this season, making him a slight threat from deep despite attempting just 0.4 shots from long range per game.
- Williams was a major part of Portland’s defensive identity and a major factor in crashing the glass on both ends of the court. With his increased games played, it meant the Blazers could rotate between him and Clingan to keep a similar look on the floor much more consistently, allowing the Blazers to establish themselves as a top rebounding team in the NBA.
Analysis
My main takeaway after watching a full season of mostly healthy Robert Williams in a Blazers jersey is that he’s a fun player to watch on a nightly basis. He plays hard, does the dirty work, and is always in position for an alley-oop or putback opportunity. He is the perfect backup center in today’s NBA. He rebounds and defends at an elite level and scores just enough to be a threat. He’s also close enough to Clingan in play style to give Portland similar looks the whole game, but enough of a change of pace defensively to throw off opposing big men and provide a better matchup against more athletic lineups.
The athletic ability of Williams helps him play much taller than the 6’9” he is listed at. He is a highlight reel waiting to happen, either swatting shots out of nowhere or finishing hard at the rim. His ability to come in and contribute off the bench proved to be incredibly important when Clingan found himself in foul trouble early in games.
Overall, this season is exactly what Portland expected when they traded for Williams in the 2023 offseason. His leadership off the bench and impact in limited minutes were a major boost to a Blazers team that had their best season in years. As a veteran presence, he was the perfect disciplined backup for Clingan during his breakout season. His ability to defend without fouling meant that Clingan was able to make mistakes, especially with early fouls, without too much consequence, since Williams could come in and replace him.
That veteran play, as well as playoff experience, were on full display during Portland’s five-game loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Clingan struggled in his first playoff outing, but Williams was able to pick up some of the slack and help keep the Blazers competitive at times in the series. He had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in Portland’s lone win and closed the game on the court to help seal the victory.
The question for Williams has always been about his ability to stay on the court. Worries about that question were given much more validity during his first two seasons with Portland. However, with a mostly healthy season under his belt, it is obvious the value Williams brings to the Blazers. His $13 million salary for this season was also a pretty team-friendly deal. Unfortunately, due to Williams playing this well and being this healthy during a contract year, he may have played himself out of Portland’s price range this summer. This leads us to:
Future Outlook
Williams is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Portland owns his Bird Rights and can go over the salary cap to retain him, but he might be a hot commodity come free agency, and Portland has the extensions of Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara kicking in next season. Most teams will, rightfully so, be wary of his injury history before offering him big money. But all it takes is one team and a contract with a lot of guaranteed money to see Williams leave for nothing. Making sure Williams is back in Portland to start the 2026-27 season should be a top priority for the Blazers this offseason.
Clingan took a major leap this season, and his upward trajectory projects to vault him higher in the ranks of top NBA centers as he progresses. This leaves Williams pretty secure in the backup center role. However, as a veteran leader and mentor for this young Portland squad, that role is incredibly valuable. It was made obvious during the playoffs this season, If the Blazers want to make another leap heading into next season, Williams’ role off the bench will be a major part of that.
