Jalen Williams is Showing Great Signs Early for Thunder
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Early in his rookie campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jalen Williams has done even more than pave his way into the starting lineup consistently. Against the Atlanta Hawks last night, Williams did his best to show his ceiling with the squad.
To think that in the young Thunder’s prime, they could have four All-Star talents on the squad, though one or two will consistently be left off the team naturally, is wild.
Back to his game against the Hawks, the No. 12 pick scored 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting, five rebounds and four steals. Not only did he stuff the stat sheet, his plays were game-swinging, impactful plays.
With roughly a minute and a half remaining in last night’s game, the Thunder were down by seven points. Williams stuffed Trae Young’s high arcing floater, which led to a fastbreak dunk for himself.
About a minute later, down three points, Williams swiped the ball from Young, who was dribbling out the clock, which led to yet another breakaway dunk.
Those plays are plays that stars make, and the 6-foot-6 guard is showing that he’s got the makings of a star. The dunks and explosive defensive plays weren’t the only promising plays from last night. He also showed he can score at all three levels of the floor well, though he only shot and made one 3-pointer.
Based on where Williams started the season – earning and sealing his spot as a starter on this squad – he’s done more than enough to earn the starting spot alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort and Chet Holmgren next season.
His performance lately – not just last night – has shown that Williams can provide an all-around game on both sides of the ball. His wingspan allows his ceiling on defense to remain limitless, and playing alongside players like Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey will open up the offensive world for him.
Averaging 11.8 points per game on the season, Williams has scored an average of 12.8 points per game since the calendar year turned over, and is consistently showing signs of improvement. He’s going to make his way into the national media’s top-5 Rookie of the Year rankings consistently.
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