Thunder forward Jalen Williams
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Jalen Williams had never had an alcoholic drink before taking the plunge after the Thunder won a championship. He went back to the well when the team held its victory parade in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, as he was armed with a bottle of tequila and champagne on his way to the bus that served as his chariot for the procession.
By now, most NBA fans are probably aware that the Thunder were able to overcome the experience deficit that comes with entering the season as the youngest team in the league based on the average age of the players on the roster while posting a 68-14 record and mounting a playoff run that ended with a victory of the Pacers in the NBA Finals.
Nothing summed up the relatively green nature of that championship squad like the fact that Alex Caruso had to teach the rest of his teammates how to pop the bottles of champagne that were waiting for them in the locker room after their triumph.
That presumably included Jalen Williams, the 24-year-old who could be excused for not knowing his way around a cork when you consider he revealed the postgame celebration was the first time he’s ever tried alcohol.
The forward dropped that tidbit during an interview on SportsCenter where he said he’d previously declined to succumb to peer pressure from his teammates but promised them he’d give in if they ended up winning a championship.
“I told them at the beginning of the year, ‘If we win a championship, I’ll drink.’ … I had a couple of shots, champagne, had beer. It was all disgusting. I’m gonna stick to Shirley Temples… I can’t speak on the parade though.”
– Jalen Williams 😆pic.twitter.com/iNCxGdGBXv
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 24, 2025
Williams seemed to be very underwhelmed when you consider he applied the “disgusting” label to the shots, beer, and champagne he tried for the very first time after Game 7, but he did say he was going to keep an open mind heading into the parade.
It definitely looks like he made good on that promise, as he was clutching bottles of Moet champagne and Don Julio 1942 tequila while making his way to the bus for the parade on Tuesday (it seems safe to assume he couldn’t pass up the chance to take advantage of some freebies that were likely provided by the team).
Jalen Williams, Don Julio box and Moet in one arm, says “I’m feeling good. Feeling loose.”
Hit the ground running on the alcohol thing. pic.twitter.com/s832Cq4HYB
— Joel Lorenzi (@JoelXLorenzi) June 24, 2025
There have been plenty of situations where it was very clear a player was overserved before stepping up to the mic at the championship rally, but that was not the case based on the short speech Williams gave to fans in OKC.
Most people have to spend years subsisting on the cheapest swill they can get their hands on before eventually upgrading to the good stuff, so congratulations to Williams for managing to skip that less-than-enjoyable stage of the typical drinking journey.