Back in 2020, the Chicago Bulls used the fourth overall pick in the draft to add forward Patrick Williams to their pipeline of young talent. Although he hasn’t lived up to the hype of being a top-five pick, the front office still decided to hand him a $90 million extension last summer.
As he plays out this new contract, Williams finds himself placed in a rather undesirable group.
Since his rookie season, Williams hasn’t seen much improvement for the Bulls statistically. He’d also struggled to stay on the floor at times, appearing in 43 or fewer games in two of his first five seasons.
Williams is coming off a 2025 campaign with Chicago where he averaged 9.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG across 63 appearances.
Ahead of the 2026 season, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale decided to make a lineup consisting of the league’s most overpaid players. Earning an average salary of $18 million, Williams was slotted in at one of the forward spots.
“Unspectacular” is the most charitable way to describe his influence. And even that is being too generous. Among the 141 players who have logged at least as many minutes since he entered the league, he ranks 138th in Basketball-Reference’s Value Over Replacement Player Metric.
Still only 24 years old, there is still time for Williams to put it all together in the NBA. However, based on what we’ve seen thus far, he seems well on his way to being a draft blunder for the Bulls.
With prospects like Matas Buzelis starting to make a name for themselves, Williams could slowly start to see his role diminish if he’s unable to improve any facets of his game moving forward.
