Thunder Rookie Jaylin Williams Making Strides

One of the most active teams the night of the 2022 NBA Draft was the Oklahoma City Thunder. By the end of the lottery, they had already selected Chet Holmgren (No. 2) and Jalen Williams (No. 12) while also trading for Ousmane Dieng (No. 11).

Entering what was about to be a pivotal season for the rebuilding Thunder, those three were set to be the focal point of the team. However, Oklahoma City also selected Jaylin Williams early in the second round, which was one of the more underrated picks of the draft.

While he could have gone back to Arkansas for a third college season with the Razorbacks in effort to win a championship, he opted to make the jump to the NBA. The improvement he showed from his freshman to sophomore season was plenty to grab the attention of NBA front offices as a do-it-all big.

Known for being a solid positional facilitator and good defender, Williams produced 2.6 assists per game along with 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest as a sophomore. He also lead the country in charges taken. This earned him All-SEC honors as well as making the conference’s All-Defense team.

Williams’ impact on winning went well beyond the box score, as he was an extremely impactful piece of the team’s success in back-to-back Elite 8 runs.

Entering the NBA, it was unclear how much Williams would play early on. Even on a team as young as the Thunder, every minute has to be earned and it’s extremely competitive. Following the injury of Chet Holmgren before the start of the season, a sliver of opportunity began to appear for the former Razorback.

Williams still had a slow start to his rookie season, both from a performance standpoint and earning time on the floor. During the first three calendar months of the season he appeared in just nine games, which was the fewest of any player on the 15-man roster. During this stretch, he produced just 2.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and one assist in 11.4 minutes per contest. He also struggled from an efficiency standpoint, shooting 32% from the floor, 12.5% from deep and 62.5% from the free throw line.

Part of the reason Williams wasn’t getting much NBA action was because he was spending quite a bit of time in the G League, where he looked much more comfortable. The Thunder front office is big on leveraging the OKC Blue as an opportunity for young players to get developmental minutes.

During his time in the G League, he looked more like the player he was at the college level. He functioned as an offensive hub and even notched a triple-double as a big.

Around the turn of the calendar year, the production and efficiency of Williams at the NBA level began to increase tremendously. He started to be a real contributor for the Thunder as injuries in the frontcourt continued to arise, stepping up to the challenge.

Since Jan. 1, Williams has played in 28 games and the team has gone 16-12 in those contests. He’s produced 6.9 points, 5.3 boards and 1.6 assists in 20 minutes per game while shooting 46.4% from the field, 44.9% from beyond the arc (2.5 attempts per game) and 75.9% from the free throw line. He’s also notched 1.5 steals per game over this stretch and has officially emerged as the NBA’s leader in charges taken.

Getting it done on both ends, Williams is now a key piece to the Thunder’s recent success and current postseason push. He earned spot starts from late December until the trade deadline, but since then has been a permanent starter. In fact, he’s started in 14 consecutive contests for the Thunder at center.

Longer term, he likely isn’t a starter at the NBA level, but does a lot of intriguing things as a depth piece. The 6-foot-10 big’s energy and ability to do the little things that impact winning are huge on both ends. Especially if he can keep knocking down triples and spacing the floor, 20 minutes a night even when the Thunder are a consistent playoff team down the road wouldn’t be surprising.

To be clear, Williams still has a long way to go. However, what he’s already flashed in his rookie season thus far is much more than expected.

This is yet another nod to the Thunder’s talent evaluation and player development programs for adding a quality piece to the roster in the second round of the draft.