Jalen Williams is quickly becoming the Thunder's version of Trae Young

Much has been made of the Oklahoma City Thunder's record when Jalen Williams plays versus when he does not. But as time goes on and the sample sizes grow larger, we are beginning to see that this team performing better without him is probably not just a total fluke.

Just as fans began to notice the Atlanta Hawks playing better without Trae Young before he was ultimately traded from that organization, we're seeing a similar situation begin to unfold with J-Dub and OKC. None of this means Williams is a bad player, but there's clearly something here.

Let's look at the numbers. As we're all aware, the Thunder were on a historic pace early this season while Williams was still sidelined and not yet ready to return to the court. But this goes beyond just this season's win-loss record before and after Jalen returned to action. It stretches back to the start of last season as well, and encompasses the team's overall offensive output.

Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Oklahoma City holds a 33-1 record (!) without Jalen Williams. With J-Dub in the lineup, they've gone 72-21. That's still a *wildly* impressive number, but there's a clear contrast between that and 33-1.

The Thunder have been performing better without Jalen Williams

Additionally, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is on the floor and Williams is not over that same time span, the Thunder have a net rating of +20.3. With Shai on the floor alongside Williams, that number drops down to 12.6. Again, it's not like the second number is bad at all, but we're not being honest if we don't acknowledge these very real differentials.

This is not me making some grand assertion that the Thunder need to trade Jalen Williams right now, or anything like that. But it's a simple observation that has to carry some sort of weight as we analyze this team and what its future direction might be.

J-Dub's massive contract extension is set to kick in next season, and he'll be earning an incredible $240 million over the course of five seasons. That's a gigantic paycheck to have to hand out. Oklahoma City has done an incredible job of keeping their roster affordable up to this point, but certain guys are obviously going to get their paydays.

Looking at these numbers has to make us wonder if Williams could find himself as the odd man out sooner rather than later. The Thunder want to make their process as sustainable as possible for the long run, and the data shows us that they're more than capable of getting by without number eight.