Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams is a first-time All-Star candidate in 2024-25 but ended up on a different list on social media. After Williams reminded reporters of his growing potential, the Thunder captured their third consecutive win in a 119-109 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans. Then, in a post intended to demonstrate NBA fans reaching for ways to point out Oklahoma City’s flaws, Jalen’s name popped up toward the end, which grabbed the third-year forward’s attention.
Williams responded to the “Jdub is a geek and corny” line in the X, formerly Twitter, post.
“I caught a crazy stray lol,” Williams replied.
Perhaps Williams has never heard of the particular superlative, but it was enough for him to reply. After talking about ways to become a better player, Williams demonstrated his continuous growth in Saturday’s win. Jdub finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 31 points.
Williams was also vocal after the win. In a game in which the Thunder held a 30-point lead in the first half, the Pelicans reduced it to nine (114-105) in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City kept its opponent at bay down the stretch.
“We started well, playing hard to start the game. We sucked the rest of the game like the second half was bad,” Williams said. “The way our start was, and how we’ve started like that in the past, we’ve been able to maintain that the whole game.”
Jalen Williams is striving to become a better player for the Thunder
Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) grabs a rebound for a dunk against New Orleans Pelicans
Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
It’s often easy to forget that Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams is only 23. He took a significant leap in his second year, ascending to a potential star who compliments All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander well in the Thunder’s starting lineup.
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Williams knows people often forget he has yet to reach his full potential, so he took it upon himself to remind everyone.
“I’m still test-driving a lot of my game,” Williams said. “I think a lot of it gets thrown out of the way because of early success that it’s year three. So, I’m still trying to figure out where I fit in the NBA and what I can do to improve my offensive capabilities.”
Williams averages 22.0 points on 51.2% shooting, including 39.3% from deep, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. On Tuesday, he and the rest of the Thunder will host the Mavericks in an NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup at the Paycom Center.