LAS VEGAS — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paused to consider the possibilities. His dark sunglasses covered his eyes, but the way his head shook and lips smirked suggested he is impressed with the future he envisions for his Oklahoma City Thunder co-star.
“It would be stupid for me to give him a ceiling,” the MVP contender said after Saturday’s win to advance to the NBA Cup final. “I think he can go as far as he wants to, as far as he takes it.”
That co-star, forward Jalen Williams, has transformed from a three-star preps prospect to the No. 2 option for a team with legit championship hopes.
And as with thunder itself, you can see the flashes before the full power of the storm arrives.
No one could’ve predicted Williams’ rise, but the 2023 Rookie of the Year runner-up is now a clear and present two-way threat whose impact on the court has put him in conversations around the league about how high he can climb and just how far the Thunder can go.
Jeff Teague, with his infectious way of stirring the pot, added to the debate with his comments last week on his Club 520 Podcast, declaring Williams on the level of NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.
“I think Jalen Williams is a premier player in the league,” Teague said before doubling down on his claim of their equivalence. “You put Jalen Williams on the Celtics right now, it’s going to be the same s—.”
It poses a central question about the potential of Oklahoma City. Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP-caliber talent, a bona fide superstar. But the Thunder are an elite Western Conference team for the sum of their parts. OKC’s depth and the way its roster fits makes its championship dreams realistic.
But it takes two to make a thing go right, and capturing the NBA championship requires a second star. Another player who can deliver massive results in critical moments.
The Celtics didn’t win until Brown became a beast alongside Jayson Tatum. The Dallas Mavericks made themselves a contender by pairing Kyrie Irving with Luka Dončić. Whenever Jamal Murray is at his best, he’s a perfect complement to Nikola Jokić — and when he’s not, the Nuggets have a big problem. Evan Mobley’s emergence with Donovan Mitchell playing like a superstar morphs Cleveland into title contenders.
The Thunder, with their bounty of resources, have stood pat with their homegrown stars. Oklahoma City could cash in its assets to go get a proven star. Instead, to this point, it has banked on Williams developing into that guy. And so far, he’s more than justifying that belief.
“Like, very special,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Williams. “As good as he wants to be. He has a really good feel for the game that’s so hard to pick up or teach this (early) in your career. He just understands how to play basketball … and then he works hard, and his skill set is only going to continue to grow because of those things.
“There’s so many things he does on the basketball court for us that are on a very high level.”
Williams is on pace to average 20 points per game for the first time in his career. He enters the NBA Cup championship game averaging 21.7 points on 50 percent shooting. At 23, he’s already a three-level scorer with a rep for being able to get a bucket in a variety of fashions. He’s one of the best in the league on the break, ranking No. 8 in the league in transition points per game — in a top 10 featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant and LeBron James.
In Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal against the Houston Rockets with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench, Williams led the Thunder to a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The duo combined for 52 of the team’s 111 points — with Isaiah Hartenstein adding 21 and Lu Dort 19 — giving a national audience a glimpse of the kind of havoc the Thunder hope to wreak in the postseason after a second-round upset in six games last season to Irving and Dončić’s Mavericks.
“Offensively, he’s super talented,” Hartenstein said of Williams in the locker room after the game.
“He may get into his midrange shot, he finds different guys, then also he can get to the hoop. And so to me, he is definitely playing like an All-Star, and I feel like he should be in the All-Star conversation.”
OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams swarm Houston’s Steven Adams in the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday in Las Vegas. (Kyle Terada / Imagn Images)
Though Williams has been a solid defender, his defense has taken a noticeable leap as well in a league where so much attention is given to offensive production. He’s in the top 10 of NBA defenders and has recorded eight steals through the last five games.
“I feel like you can put him on any guy, big (or) small… he’ll do that,” Hartenstein said. “He’s a great help-side defender. Length-wise, his arms are so long. He can block shots, get steals.”
Teammate Alex Caruso, with two NBA All-Defensive selections in his career and an understanding of what it takes to be an elite defender, sees the promise in Williams’ skills.
“He has special physical traits mixed with special instincts. He doesn’t pick up full court and turn and turn and turn, but when he decides to make a play, he makes it every time,” Caruso said. “He goes for the ball, he goes for the block. He does a phenomenal job with timing those and coming up with the play.”
The versatility of the 6-foot-6 Williams can’t be overstated. His size, athleticism and skill set make him useful across the board. In addition to being second on the Thunder in scoring, he’s also second in assists (5.0). He leads Oklahoma City in total rebounds, total steals and total dunks.
“I think every year I just try and master one thing,” Williams said after totaling 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win over Houston.
He locked on his midrange this season. Per NBA Stats, he is shooting 52.3 percent on his 65 midrange shots. Last season, he made 48.8 percent of his 166 attempts.
“I try and take one thing at a time and not rush it,” Williams continued. “My dad is big on just (taking) one year at a time. You’re not playing this for one year. I’m trying to be in the NBA for 15-plus. … Over the course of my work, I would like to master multiple things a year and see where I pan out.”
Part of the significance of Williams answering this question — is he a worthy No. 2 on a championship team? — is his pending price. The No. 12 pick out of Santa Clara in the 2022 NBA Draft will be due a massive contract extension this summer.
He is making $4.8 million this season and will make $6.6 million next season. His salary is sure to increase five-fold in 2026-27. Chet Holmgren, chosen 10 spots ahead of Williams in the same draft, is also in line for an extension. The same year they get a pay raise, Gilgeous-Alexander — who is also eligible for a supermax extension after this season — will get more than $40 million.
SGA is locked in as the face of the Thunder. Holmgren is unique and a certain keeper. If Williams is who they think he is, OKC has a big three for the future. As long as the franchise can stomach the price tag.
“He’s bringing a lot on both ends of the floor,” Dort said of Williams. “He can guard, he can get a bucket every time. He’s a guy that can play make. His ceiling, I mean, I think he can be an All-Star. I think he should be an All-Star this year, but we’ll see.
“He’s just got to keep doing what he’s doing. He’s bringing so much to the game.”
(Top photo Jalen Williams: Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)
