The short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, but in the process, Jaylin Williams got a chance to show off his skills. He was absolutely incredible, led the Thunder in scoring, and proved that OKC has the NBA’s best problem: They have too much depth.
Over the years, Sam Presti has carefully built this roster, with the goal of winning a championship. The Thunder succeeded in that quest last season, and now, they’re looking to become the first back-to-back champs since 2018. But they can’t play everyone. Some guys have to stay glued to the bench.
Unfortunately (and fortunately at the same time), the Thunder just have too many good players.
Jaylin Williams' game against Pistons proved the Thunder have too much depth (in a good way)
Williams wasn’t just good against the Pistons. He was phenomenal. He got the start in place of Chet Holmgren (and Isaiah Hartenstein, who was also out), and he was one of the best players on the floor.
By the end of the night, Williams had tallied 30 points, 11 rebounds, four assist, one steal, and one assist while shooting 9-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-10 from beyond the three-point line.
It was an absolutely insane night of basketball for Williams, and what made it even more impressive is that the Thunder had a chance to take down the one-seeded Pistons without any of their top guys.
And Williams did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, as the Thunder were trying to mount a comeback (which ultimately fell short).
In the fourth quarter alone, Williams put up 14 points, two rebounds, and two assists. He shot 3-of-4 from the field, 2-of-4 from deep range, and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Williams has been playing decent minutes this season. He’s playing a career-high 19.5 minutes per contest in 45 appearances so far (his career-high in appearances is 49, which he achieved during his rookie campaign).
But Wednesday night proved that he could be more than that. He’s capable of playing big-time minutes, but the Thunder just don’t need him to. They have better players at the position.
And that’s not a knock on Williams. It’s a testament to how good OKC is.
They have the best possible problem an NBA team could have: They have too many players capable of impacting winning basketball.
And on Wednesday night in a start against the top-seeded Pistons, Williams proved that he is absolutely one of those players.