Jalen Williams, affectionately known as J-Dub by his peers and fans alike, is a Swiss army knife on the court. With his ability to score in a multitude of ways and defend multiple positions, there’s nothing much the guy can’t do. It’s one of the main reasons his Oklahoma City Thunder are just a single win away from a championship. In a recent ESPN article, Williams earned some high praise from one of the game’s all-time greats, Scottie Pippen.
“He is pretty special,” Pippen said to ESPN’s Tim McMahon. “I’m enjoying watching him. I see a lot of me in him for sure. I see a guy rising to be one of the top players in this league. He’s definitely a player that is capable of being able to lead that franchise to multiple championships — him and Shai, of course.”
Pippen even believes that with time Williams can become one of the greatest players of his generation.
“I see him being greater (than me),” Pippen added. “If this kid continues to shoot the 3-ball the way that he shoots it, I’m not going to sit here and argue with nobody and say that you can compare us. Because you can’t. He wins.”
Williams was tickled pink at the thought of being brought up in the same conversation as one of the greats.
“It’s very cool,” Williams said. “Any time you compared to somebody like that, you’re doing something right.”
J-Dub’s Impact on the Finals
After an up and down semifinals and Western Conference Finals, Williams has seemed to hit his stride when it’s mattered most. In the NBA Finals, Williams is averaging 25.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. This was highlighted in his Game 5 performance where he put up a playoff career-high of 40 points to seal a pivotal win.
The scoring outburst made him the third youngest player to score 40 points or better in a Finals game since 1980. The others? Just arguably the greatest point guard of all time in Magic Johnson and surefire Hall of Fame guard Russell Westbrook.
Williams has also been tasked with guarding Indiana’s Pascal Siakam. Siakam was an All Star this year and is the team’s go-to scorer. Williams though has held the big man to 47 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent from three, marking six percent and 11 percent below his playoff averages entering the series respectively.
Additionally, Indiana’s starting five is shooting just 10-28 when Williams is the closest defender.
Not that this was unexpected. Williams filled in at center when Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein were injured at the same point this season, showcasing his defensive versatility. He also earned himself a All-NBA Defensive Second Team selection to boot.
All this great play has some even considering Williams for Finals MVP over regular season MVP Gilgeous-Alexander who has had some defensive lowlights this series.
At just 24 years old, Williams is proving himself more than just a worthy sidekick to SGA. He’s not just the Scottie Pippen/Robin to SGA’s Michael Jordan/Batman. Williams is proving himself capable of leading a franchise to a championship. Now the Thunder sit just a single game shy of achieving that goal. It would be the franchise’s first title since 1979 when they were still the Seattle SuperSonics.
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