For the third year in a row, the OKC Thunder will find themselves well represented during the league's annual All-Star Weekend, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named a starter for the headline exhibition while sophomore Cason Wallace was just selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge.
Now, fans are champing at the bit while awaiting word on whether Jalen Williams will be joining his Oklahoma City cohorts via his first career All-Star selection. To center Isaiah Hartenstein, there's no question the forward's deserving of a bid.
During a practice media session held this past Tuesday, the big man spoke glowingly about how Williams has managed to up his play in all three years of his professional career, and, amid his praise-filled assessment, Hartenstein laid out the reasons why he deserves to be selected as an All-Star reserve.
Thunder big Isaiah Hartenstein endorses Jalen Williams for All-Star bid
"He's been great. To me, he's an All-Star this year... I think he's a really underrated defender. I think he's one of the best defenders in the league. We just happen to have so many great defenders on our team that sometimes he doesn't get as much exposure as he should. Defensively he's been great, offensively he's been doing a great job just leading the team in those aspects," Hartenstein said.
While the lion's share of credit for the team's top-seeded 37-8 record has been given to Gilgeous-Alexander and his tremendous per-game production, for those familiar and who have watched a majority of games, the Thunder likely would not be where they are at this point in the year without the contributions of Jalen Williams.
Enduring countless injuries throughout the season, particularly within their frontcourt, coach Mark Daigneault has looked to J-Dub to play well outside of his position, as the traditional wing (6-foot-6, 211 pounds) has been tasked with slotting in anywhere from the three all the way down to the team's starting pivot.
Despite the clear size and strength issues that inherently come with such a rotation set-up, Williams has battled through these numerous adversities and, in turn, has managed to put forth easily his best season yet.
In 44 games played, the 23-year-old finds himself posting sensational two-way averages of 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and just shy of a block on 47.5 percent shooting from the floor and while registering a remarkable defensive rating of 103.6.
Throughout the year, Williams has proven time and time again that he's more than capable of serving as a Swiss Army Knife-type of talent while simultaneously playing the role of Nightwing next to SGA's Batman in the scoring department along the way.
Without his efforts, this bruised and battered Thunder squad would almost certainly not be boasting the best record in the entire league and, in turn, be en route toward their second consecutive home-court advantage throughout the NBA Playoffs.
Because of this, it should go without saying that Jalen Williams is more than deserving of being named an All-Star this season.
During Thursday's unveiling of the 2025 NBA All-Star reserves on TNT's pregame show, Isaiah Hartenstein and the vast majority of Thunder nation expect to hear Dub's name included.