MIAMI, FL – Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams is at 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, and he hopes to be the one suiting up to play at some point in his career.

The NBA announced that the 2023 Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat would be spiced up with some players in attendance acting as media members. With at least four games in the series, the league invited the top rookies from the 2022 NBA Draft class to participate in NBA Finals Media Day as NBA Finals Media Correspondents, as well as to take in the game a day later.

Among the participants in the events were Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin, Utah Jazz rookie Walker Kessler, Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero, and Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Jalen Williams.

The four players took time to take part in all parts of NBA Finals Media Day, including the press conference room questions, the on-court sessions, and even some friendly one-on-one.

Williams' rookie season got off to a rocky start, suffering a fractured orbital bone less than six minutes into his NBA debut with the Thunder. From January 2023 to the end of the regular season, Williams averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from three. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Magic star Paolo Banchero.

Jalen Williams spoke with me, Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints, about joining the championship round as an NBA Finals Correspondent, being a part of the atmosphere, his rookie season with the OKC Thunder, and more.

Tomer Azarly: We Got Jalen Williams, OKC guard? Forward?

Jalen Williams: Wherever they put me at haha.

TA: Basketball player! Well you’re in the NBA Finals. How did this all start for you?

JW: Well I got a text and they were asking me basically what are you doing with your offseason and if you would like to come out here and kind of go through his whole process. It was kind of a no brainer. It’s really cool to kinda be here in this atmosphere.

You get to see a lot of like the moving parts that are going on. I think a lot of people behind the scenes that you wouldn’t necessarily see, so I’m getting to meet a lot of people and going through his whole process for the first time. I think every NBA player wants to be here in this moment and I think this is like a cool start to backtrack to do something to look forward to and kind of push towards so pretty obvious that I wanted to be here and it’s been exciting so far.

TA: 
You’ve been the guy who gets questions asked. Now you’re doing the asking questions. Which one do you prefer?

JW: I think it’s pretty even. I feel like being an NBA player, it’s easy to kind of figure out questions to ask and I know stuff that I don’t like to be asked and then obviously, vice versa, I was in little media scrums so everybody’s raising their hand trying to figure that out, so that was probably the hardest part. But it’s really cool. It definitely has pros and cons. Obviously you probably get some crazy questions that you get asked being a player and obviously vice versa, so I think it’s been a little easier being able to do the interviews.

TA: What’s a question you don’t like being asked?

JW: I’m not gonna share too much, because I guarantee I’ll be asked it, but I feel like a lot of questions might get a little repetitive in the sense of that nature. I feel like that’s kind of the hardest part of answering. You’re full of stability even though you kind of get asked them a lot.

TA: Now that you’ve had a couple months to soak in your rookie season with the Thunder, what was your takeaway from it?

JW: It was really, really hectic. Playing with the injury to kind of start the year, in my NBA career was kind of crazy, but It was really fun. A lot of ups and downs. A lot more ups for sure. I feel like I kind of got into a rhythm, especially in the second half of the season, I was able to kind of get my mask off and kind of just play. Credit to the team, the coaching staff. I was in a pretty good position to kind of just learn from my mistakes and play through them. Yeah it was fun to grow on for sure.

TA: 
What's your favorite city to play in?

JW: I think for me, Staples. Growing up a Kobe Bryant fan, that was my first time in the arena, so I think that was pretty cool and probably Madison Square Garden. I think playing against the Knicks and kind of that whole atmosphere is something that can’t really be replicated.

TA: So you were there for LeBron’s record breaking game as well. Was that kind of a magical night?

JW: Yeah, it was a very crazy and hectic night. I saw celebrities that I don't think I ever would have saw. That was pretty cool. And then obviously, we won the game, so I think that kind of is a big win for us and you know, I got to also see LeBron beat the record. It’s something that probably won’t ever get touched, so it was definitely a lot of emotions going on. It was a pretty dope experience.

TA: What’s next for Jalen Williams to improve?

JW: I think just kind of understanding the game a little more. And kind of just building off what I did last year. I think when you have basketball knowledge, that takes you a lot longer than trying to get more athletic or trying to get faster and stuff like that. So just kind of understanding why I’m doing stuff at the core and kind of going through X’s and O’s.

TA: 1 on 1 with you and the newest member of the first team all NBA, your Thunder teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Who wins?

JW: I’m gonna say me every time. I’ll see him during the summer, so we’ll play. I’m definitely gonna say myself.

TA: Who wins most of those? Is it even? Be honest.

JW: We really… We really don’t play because during the season, it’s difficult. Yeah, so we’ll have to see. I’ll probably have a better answer for you by the end of the summer for sure.