Jalen Williams Took Pleasure In Lakers Fans' Misery After Thunder Eliminated Them From 2026 Playoffs
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Jalen Williams of the OKC Thunder recently sat down with his teammate, Ajay Mitchell, for an interview on the ‘Young Man and the Three’ podcast with Tommy Alter. Among other things, they discussed the Thunder’s 2026 playoff performance.
When Alter brought up the series against the Lakers, he told Ajay Mitchell that the purple-and-gold faithful hated his performance because he sent their team home. That’s when Jalen Williams admitted that while he sat out the series (hamstring injury), he enjoyed watching the Lakers’ fans suffer on Twitter.
“Oh my God, dude. Bro, that was, I don’t want to say I was happy I was out, but that was a fun series to be out for because every time you had a good game, I would go straight to Twitter,” Williams told Mitchell.
“This is what I was talking about before. They were like, “Who the f–k is this guy cooking us?” Alter added.
“Bro, was that the—what? Oh my God. What game was it? Was it Game 3?” Williams responded. “It had to have been Game 3. It was like you closed out the game. You had to have had the last 10 points. I think it was Game 3.”
“I just remember being on the sideline, yelling, ‘Oh my God!’ for like five minutes straight. I was like, ‘This is insane, bro.’ Yeah, that was good. Yeah, that was fun,” Williams further added.
Ajay Mitchell ended the Lakers’ series averaging 22.5 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 56.3% from the field and 25.0% from the three-point line.
Mitchell’s breakout performance against the Lakers left their fans frustrated and stunned, as the relatively inexperienced guard became an unexpected problem for the purple and gold.
His scoring exploits sparked disbelief among the Lakers’ supporters as their playoff hopes crumbled, and JJ Redick and the team could do nothing about it.
“I mean, it was my first time really playing in the playoffs. To start, I wouldn’t say I was nervous because I played the whole year and felt great, but I was more wondering what it would be like and how different it would be,” said Mitchell as he reflected on his first playoff run with the Thunder.
“But it was fun. I mean, it was the most fun I’ve had playing basketball. And then, obviously, the San Antonio series, when I got hurt, sucked, but it was a cool experience for me,” he concluded.
In Jalen Williams’ absence, the Thunder almost believed they had found a temporary replacement and a second scoring option.
But things took a turn for the worse for Ajay Mitchell as he injured himself (right soleus strain) during the Western Conference Finals against the Spurs. That’s when the Thunder’s season got completely derailed as Ajay Mitchel sat out the rest of the series after Game 3.
For Mitchell, the Lakers series became a memorable introduction to playoff basketball. But for the Thunder, it showed how much they needed a reliable second scoring option to succeed.
It will be interesting to see how a fully healthy Thunder roster responds to last season’s playoff setback. And even though Jalen Williams enjoyed watching from the sidelines, I’m sure he would love to play now.
The Thunder will tip off their 2026-27 series with a rematch of their Western Conference Finals matchup against the Spurs on October 20. All eyes are now on the Thunder to see how they bounce back from the injury-plagued season.