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Jalen Williams and the Oklahoma City Thunder carry a unique tradition unlike anything the NBA has seen. After making his debut, Thunder veteran Alex Caurso barked during his walk-off interview. Three weeks later, their center Isaiah Hartenstein barked during his postgame interview, surrounded by his new teammates.
Williams, or JDub as he's often referred to, in a way to differentiate himself from Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City's backup center, is known as one of the tradition's founding fathers, alongside J-Will. The two Williamses were known to let out barks toward the faithful fans at the Paycom Center, where fans replied in the same form in which dogs communicate. However, how did it all start?
A reporter asked Jalen about the Thunder routine during the NBA Cup's media day in Las Vegas.
“I think it was my sophomore year with Summer League in Utah. Chet [Holmgren] barked. And it kind of was like random. It wasn't like on purpose, and I think Twitter kind of got a hold of it,” Williams said. “And then, I don't know, our team is so weird. I don't even remember what happened after that, but we started barking after. But Chet kind of started it by accident.”
What started as Williams mocking Holmgren became a Thunder tradition. Newcomers Caruso, Hartenstein, and even first-round rookie Nikola Topic, who's out for the season due to a torn ACL, participated in the tradition this season. Williams says the Thunder bark symbolizes the team's dog-like approach.
“One of the interviewers talking about having a dog mentality or something, and he barked,” Williams added. “It kind of just took off from there. Me and J-Will started doing it, mocking him. And then, once Oklahoma gets wind of something like that, they usually stick with it.”
Since then, Williams has embraced one of the many Thunder qualities that make them unique.
“I enjoy it. I think everybody else does,” Williams said. “We don't do it every time now, but it's kind of like our identity.”
Thunder are favorites to win the NBA Cup in Las Vegas
On Saturday night, Jalen Williams and the Thunder will play the Rockets in the NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas. The winner will face the winner of the Eastern Conference semifinal between the Bucks and Hawks.
The Thunder (+125) have the best odds of winning the NBA Cup. The Bucks (+230) have the second-best odds, followed by the Rockets (+400) and Hawks (+600), per DraftKings.
