The Oklahoma City Thunder brought in four new players via the 2022 NBA Draft, three of them in the Lottery, and two of them sharing the same name. After it was announced Chet Holmgren will miss the entire season, it put a damper on the year for most OKC Thunder fans. However, the 12th pick in the draft, Jalen Williams, still offers a lot to look forward to for the Thunder.
The organization is a week into NBA Training camp, with their first preseason game a little over 24 hours away. The OKC Thunder are preparing to fly to Denver and take on the Nuggets on October 3rd in what will be the start of a six-game preseason slate.
This will be the second showcase for the team’s rookie class, and the first time fans get to see Jalen Williams since he dominated Summer League in Vegas.
The Oklahoma City Thunder begin their preseason tomorrow, but veteran Kenrich Williams believes rookie forward, Jalen Williams is “going to be an All-Star one day”
Jalen Williams was a fast riser at the NBA Draft Combine in May, out of Santa Clara Williams put himself on the first-round radar about eight weeks before Draft day, his stock eventually climbed to the point he was selected 12th overall by the OKC Thunder.
Even before he was selected to OKC, Jalen Williams talked with those of us in the media about his workouts with the Thunder, and he had glowing things to say about the organization. Williams went on to say the organization watched the most minutes of him in college. It was clear Sam Presti did his homework.
From his fun Tik-Tok to his pajama pants wardrobe, and Mamba Mentality, Williams is quickly becoming a fan favorite. But the Santa Clara product is much more than his fantastic off-the-court personality and big smile.
After a week of practices with the team, Kenrich Williams praised the rookie saying Jalen Williams is “going to be an All-Star one day”
Last season, Jalen Williams played in 33 games on his way to scoring 18 points with four rebounds and four assists per tilt. The Gilbert, Arizona native shot 39 percent from three-point land to boot.
Not only did Williams show off his secondary playmaking chops and three-level scoring in summer league, but his defense leaped off the screen. While all eyes are rightfully on Chet Holmgren, Williams can easily develop into an All-Star caliber player, selected just ten spots below Holmgren.
There is an argument to have Jalen Williams slide into the starting lineup at some point this season he has been so impressive at Summer League and training camp, so we will see how he reacts to playing in an NBA arena tomorrow against the Nuggets to tip-off the preseason.
I am all-in on Kenrich Williams’s prediction, and I will spread Jalen “J-Dub” William’s propaganda for a very, very long time. What are your projections for the 12th overall pick?