Jalen Williams experienced a lot of moments in the first three years of his NBA career with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though he earned his stripes as one of the best young stars in the league, there were times when other star players got the best of him.
Williams appeared on an episode of the Out the Mud podcast with hosts Zach Randolph and Tony Allen. He admitted that Leonard torched the nets against him on the second night of a back-to-back between the Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers.
“We played the Clippers. We beat the Clippers. Kawhi had a horrible game. I did a good job guarding him. So, I’m juiced, but we played them back-to-back. He started the game off 9-for-9 on me,” Williams said. “We go back to the huddle. This is funny. Everybody don’t know Mark says slick stuff. He’s like, “He’s busting your a**, Jalen. Do we need to switch?” I looked at him. I was like, ‘Yeah.’ So, Kawhi had 9-for-9 and then, Lu was on him. Kawhi ended up having 30-something.”
Williams even revealed more moments on when stars welcomed him to the league, which Randolph and Allen enjoyed listening to his stories.
“Klay, I was playing good defense on him the whole night. He hit one from behind the backboard, and as it’s going in he slapped me on my butt, “Good try, rook.” KD, coming back,” Williams added. “He hadn’t played in OKC in a little bit, and he came back to OKC, and he was wilding. Fans chirping at him, and you know KD talks back. He’s talking to the fans while he’s bumping me, shooting over me. It was horrible, bro.”
What Lies Ahead For Jalen Williams, Thunder
GettyJalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebtates with teammates during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers in Game Seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 22, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Jalen Williams had his fair share of matchups in the NBA, playing against the best stars in the league. Turning into a star himself for the Thunder, he understood how important it was for him to learn from those experiences.
Williams averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game after 69 appearances last season. He shot 48.4% from the field, including 36.5% from beyond the arc, and 78.9% from the free-throw line.
Williams was excellent on both sides of the ball, earning a lot of recognition from the league for his efforts. He got his first All-Star selection while landing on the All-NBA and All-Defensive squads.
Oklahoma City slowly but surely grew into a powerhouse in the Western Conference with their star core of Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. They brought the franchise back into playoff contention after being absent from the postseason for three consecutive seasons.
They returned to the playoffs in 2024, falling to the eventual finalists Dallas Mavericks in the second round. The team retooled that offseason, which turned out to be a massive success. They won a franchise-record 68 games, as Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams took big steps in their growth as NBA stars.
They led the team to the mountaintop, beating the Indiana Pacers after a hard-fought seven games. The championship forever cements them into NBA history, but their stories as stars are only beginning.
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