It's exciting enough for Utah Jazz fans that they took the little brother of one of the NBA's most promising players in Jaylen Williams. If that's not enough Cody Williams admitted that he emulated his game after two particular NBA legends.
In an exclusive interview, Williams revealed how Kobe Bryant influenced his game growing up. He admitted that his older brother played a part in why he tried to learn from Bryant.
"Jalen put me on to him because he was a huge Kobe fan growing up, like a Kobe fanatic," Williams told FanSided. "Obviously, he still is, but, you know, growing up he was crazy about Kobe. So it's like his mentality and his work-ethic kind of things that have always stuck with me, and I kind of looked up to it when I was little thanks to him."
Cody Williams also tried to emulate Kevin Durant
While talking with FanSided, he also talked about how he tried to follow Suns star Kevin Durant growing up.
"I think as far as play-style, I really liked watching Kevin Durant growing up. I was always kind of attracted to his play-style. Growing up I was always on the skinnier side, the lankier side. Like, 'Oh, you're not going to be strong enough to play at the next level.'... Then watching Kevin Durant who's a slimmer guy but who's still strong, he's able to get to his spots, kind of uses his length to shoot over defenders. It's just kind of someone who I always grew up watching."
The commonality between Bryant and Durant is that, besides being the best scorers the NBA has ever seen, they also have multiple titles to their name. Does this meant that the Jazz have that in Cody Williams? Never say never, but the odds aren't high. The bottom line, he studied their games, which could pay massive dividends if he's able to tap in to what made those guys the all-timers they became.
If that's not enough, Williams also singled out Pelicans star Brandon Ingram.
"I've watched a lot of Brandon Ingram too. Just another long, athletic guy who kind of uses his length to rise up and shoot over defenders."
Ingram has not and will likely never develop the same reputation that Bryant and Durant did. However, part of that can be attributed to injuries. Williams is likely to be his own player, but the Jazz have added a lot of excitement to their youth movement. Even if he may not become a star, Williams chose the basketball influences.