Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams was seen talking to BYU's freshman AJ Dybantsa, who's considered to be the NBA's top prospect, during a recent road game against the Utah Jazz. Amid Williams and the defending champion Thunder's historic regular-season success in 2025-26 on par to reach 73+ wins, the Los Angeles Clippers' struggles are jarring. Oklahoma City owns the Clippers' non-protected first-round pick in next year's draft.
Williams, knowing the speculation surrounding the Thunder possibly earning the rights to select Dybantsa in next year's NBA Draft lottery, chose his words wisely while speaking on his relationship with the BYU freshman, he said, per The Oklahoman's Justin Martinez.
“He's a really good player, obviously. I don't even know how we met the first time. I know Thunder Twitter and everybody else in the world will run with whatever I say, so I gotta to be careful. Just a good dude. Obviously, the Thunder in town,” Williams said about the Thunder's recent game against the Jazz. “Everybody knows about the picks and everything that's going on. I think I met him last year. A lot has gone on. He's just a good kid.
“We were just chopping it up. I think they had played that day, too. So, just talking about the game. He got to watch us play. I don't think I played that game. But yeah, good dude. No crazy talk.”
AJ Dybantsa watched Oklahoma City beat the Jazz 144-112 on November 21. Williams made his regular-season debut one week afterward in a 123-119 win against the Phoenix Suns.
The Clippers (6-20) are tied with the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings for the third-worst record in the NBA.
Jalen Williams making the most of the Thunder's NBA Cup loss
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Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) gestures after scoring against the Phoenix Suns during the second quarter at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams isn't chasing the Warriors' 73-9 record despite the defending champion's impressive 24-2 start, which is the best the NBA has seen since the 2015-16 Warriors. Instead, he's focused on improving from an individual standpoint and as a team. Losing to the Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinals has given Williams and the Thunder additional practice days, which is rare throughout an 82-game regular season.
Williams, whose regular season started on November 28, is making the most of the Thunder's additional allotted practice time this week.
“For me, it's been good just because I didn't have training camp or anything. So, I've actually been able to work out, which is nice,” Williams said. “So, yeah, this has been the first time I've had consecutive days I actually worked out, and utilized both my hands. So, that's cool. You don't really get a lot of days these days like that.
“We got to go through actual practice and kind of have like a training camp flow, where we get to reintergrate our principals, watch film, just do the whole deep dive on the season, while you've been successful. What we've been good at; what we've been bad at, and just kind of dissect that, and actually be able to work on it.”
The Thunder can improve to 25-2 when it hosts the Clippers at the Paycon Center on Thursday.