Studying Sebastian Williams-Adams film versus top prospects
A film study from a game where Auburn's newest commit played against the top ranked prospect in 2025 and 2026.
Recent Auburn commit Sebastian Williams-Adams isn’t your normal top 50 recruit.
Usually a guy with his ranking earned that ranking from high scoring performances and high flying dunks, and their highlight reels are filled with ankle breaking crossovers against Inferior opponents.
Williams-Adams’ game shines brightest against other stars, when he can use his wingspan and defensive prowess to smother scoring stars while overpowering them with his strength and handle on offense.
Don't get me wrong, he has plenty of flashy highlights, but watching him shutdown future NBA stars in EYBL games is what makes me step back and realize how special Williams-Adams is.
In July his AAU team (JL3 Elite) played the Oakland Soldiers, home to the top recruit in both 2025 (AJ Dybantsa) and 2026 (Tyran Stokes). Below is every half court defensive possession where Williams-Adams won a matchup with one of the two and a few other noteworthy plays:
This is the perfect example of Williams-Adams elite defensive potential. Dybantsa has this shot all day against less capable defenders, and Williams-Adams fights through a questionable push off and still gets a hand in the No. 1 players face on a shot attempt early in the game. The second clip shows him in the same spot against a different defender:
Below is SWA’s first field goal of the game. The four-star forward will be deadly in Auburn’s baseline out of bounds plays. He’s a good passer and equally good at using his size and strength to run a little give and go or high low action after throwing it in.
I’m not sure if he slides up in help defense or to bait the pass below, but his wingspan makes this an easy recovery and an easy tipped pass.
He stays vertical below and makes a good contest on a look that Dybantsa usually makes look easy. That’s a theme for SWA with his wingspan and anticipation.
Sticking with the defense, Williams-Adams gets his hands a little caught up and fouls Stokes on the first play, but he eats him alive on the second play. Shows off his anticipation, his wingspan, and even his motor and awareness by grabbing the loose ball after the block. That second play is everything you want to see.
He does a great job at staying in front of Stokes on the plays below and forcing a desperation shot, which his teammate cleans up, and a bad pass. His 7’3” wingspan really crowds his opponents’ vision and normal shooting/passing space.
Below, Oakland draws up a play to get it to Dybantsa in his preferred spot, on a defender other than SWA, and the Auburn commit wrecks the play.
SWA gets screened off Stokes on this play, but I like how he stays nearby, aware and active to scoop up the rebound.
Extras
The speed he plays at, both mentally and physically, is impressive for a guy his size.
I broke down his face up ability and half court scoring in the commitment service, but he’s also a scoring threat in that big guard/point forward role because his handle is good enough to let him bring the ball up court, almost guaranteeing him a downhill drive to the basket. Auburn has used its fours in this role throughout the Bruce Pearl era.
If he adds a little extra wiggle with the ball in his hand and a little more athleticism, he’ll finish those off at a high rate. As of now, he usually gets to the line at the very least. If he adds those athleticism improvements and improves his free throw shooting it’ll be a lethal move for him at the college level. He’s a problem on dribble hand offs and ball screens for the same reason.
He even showed off some of that promise as a shooter.
Williams-Adams’ team did lose this game, but the Auburn commit also had 24 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Dybantsa had 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Stokes had 13 points and 10 rebounds. So, SWA didn’t completely shut them down, but he wasn’t matched up with them every play — and he did shut them down more often than not when it was his matchup.
These kind of defensive performances bring back memories of what Isaac Okoro did in games against high ranking scorers — even Williams-Adams’ offense compares. On top of that, Williams-Adams has a few inches on Okoro’s height and wingspan.
He’s an extremely good prospect and the kind of recruit Auburn has had a lot of success with, both in terms of production and development toward a pro career.