The OKC Thunder are heading to the Championship round of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup following a commanding victory over the Houston Rockets this past Saturday.
While the win ultimately proved to be a full-out team effort, throughout the 48-minute exhibition several players proved invaluable in leading the charge toward Oklahoma City's tournament advancement.
One of said individuals was third-year forward Jalen Williams, who put forth a stat-sheet stuffing effort where he registered 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 40.0 percent from distance in 39 minutes of play.
Though certainly a tremendous showing, for those familiar with this 2024-25 Thunder team J-Dub's performance against Houston was essentially just a regular game on the season.
Because of this, and the fact that Oklahoma City punched their ticket to the title round as a result of his fruitful labor, fellow 2022 NBA Draftee and currently sidelined franchise cornerstone Chet Holmgren viewed this time in the national spotlight as the perfect opportunity to voice his support on social media for the forward to be selected to this year's All-Star game.
Chet Holmgren supports Thunder forward Jalen Williams' All-Star bid
— chet holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) December 15, 2024
Though one could certainly argue Williams' breakout party came last season when he averaged 19.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds on the top seed in the Western Conference standings, his play thus far into the new campaign has proven that there are even higher levels to the youngster's game and, in 25 games played, he's notably ascended even higher.
Logging 32.1 minutes per night, he finds himself posting career-highs of 21.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.0 steals, and just shy of a block while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from distance.
While these numbers alone should warrant his consideration to be selected to the star-studded, San Fransisco exhibition this coming February, what should virtually cement his claim for entry into the contest is his ability to make an impact in virtually all areas of the floor... and at any position.
Not only has Williams been a dominant, all-around performer on both ends of the ball, but he's been slotted into many obscure spots within coach Mark Daigneault's rotation out of sheer necessity, with his most eye-catching position played being center.
Despite measuring in at 6-foot-5 and boasting both the build and play of a traditional three, he's inspirationally excelled at playing the one down to the five and has served as arguably the biggest reason why the Thunder are the number one team in the Western Conference with a record of 20-5.
Frankly, his recent show out against Houston was merely a taste of what Jalen Williams has managed to accomplish so far this year, and, to Chet Holmgren, his production should wind up earning him a trip to this year's All-Star game.