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It’s rare for a player in his third NBA season to accomplish the list of accolades that Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams reached in 2024-25. From his first All-Star selection to All-Defensive Second Team and All-NBA Third Team honors, career firsts in the same season, Williams embraces the pressure that comes with high expectations in his NBA Finals debut against the Indiana Pacers.
Ahead of Game 3 against the Pacers, Williams explained how the team's culture, coupled with Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault’s ‘next man up’ approach, expedited his growth, ultimately blossoming into an All-NBA two-way player in only his third season.
“I’ve had to evolve really fast, and I think that’s made me a really good player. So, I’ve been in so many different positions on the team that it’s helped me get to the point where you say our lineup was different, I don’t even really notice that,” Williams said. “And we have a group of guys that are ready to play. So, everybody is kind of waiting for their opportunity. We have so many different lineups throughout the course of the year that nobody’s shocked by when Mark wants to go small, or change this around, or do that.
“So, we just have a bunch of guys that’s had experience doing that. And, over the course of time, you kind of don’t really notice it, and you’re just more ready to play, and ready when your number’s called. I think that’s what makes our team special,” Williams concluded.
Against the Pacers, Williams scored 17 and 19 points in the first two games of his NBA Finals debut.
Jalen Williams says Thunder Finals pressure’s ’a privilege’
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Thunder Jalen Williams isn’t into the 2012 Thunder comparisons to this year’s squad; he and fellow All-Star and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are writing an unprecedented chapter in franchise history. Williams knows how rare his path is and embraces himself and the Thunder’s promising trajectory.
“I just try to think of myself as somebody that’s very uncommon. I don’t ever think that I’m in my third year because that allows me to make excuses,” Williams said. “I should just go out there and play. Pressure’s a privilege. So, I enjoy being counted on. I just think I’ve been counted on since, I feel like last year, to be totally honest, just in regards to being there for the rest of the guys. Now, we’re in the Finals.”
Tied in a 1-1 series with the Pacers, Williams and the Thunder are three wins away from capturing Oklahoma City’s first NBA title.
