Now in his third season in the NBA, Jalen Williams finds himself serving in a key cog within the rotation for the top-seeded OKC Thunder.
Following up a tremendous sophomore showing, 2024-25 is easily shaping up to be the forward's best yet in the association, as he's dropping career-best averages virtually all across the board and has showcased an impressive amount of on-court versatility that, in large, has paved the way to Oklahoma City's incredible 33-6 record.
However, despite his importance to the team and his clear All-Star promise, during a recent episode of The Young Man and the Three Williams revealed that his mission on the hardwood is not necessarily to be the de facto number one option but, rather, to play whatever role the club needs him to at the best of his abilities.
To this point, it's evident that he's more than managed to accomplish such a goal, and, during his appearance on the podcast, the Thunder stud revealed that he likens his situation and approach to the game to that of Kawhi Leonard's during his early days with the San Antonio Spurs.
Jalen Williams likens his situation with Thunder to Spurs Kawhi Leonard
"Early Kawhi... that's somebody I've been peeping right now. I feel like we're kind of in the same phase of our career... You look at his early Spurs thing. I feel like we're kind of in the same boat," Williams said.
For years now, the Thunder forward has found himself being compared to the likes of Kawhi Leonard by various pundits and NBA personalities due, in large, to their shared abilities to play both ends of the floor at a high level and use their lengthy builds to contest shots and deflect passes.
Of course, from an individual on-paper production standpoint, the comparison Williams made to a third-year Kawhi is a bit modest considering that he's averaging roughly eight more points (20.6 to 12.8) and 3.2 more assists (5.2 to 2.0) while also already being soundly in the running for an All-Star nod.
However, the, now, six-time All-Star would find himself wrapping up his junior year by nabbing two of the most coveted accomplishments of all with his first of two NBA Championships and, perhaps more notable, NBA Finals MVPs.
Despite what recency bias may have people thinking of when it relates to the likes of Kawhi Leonard (injury-prone, load management savant, etc.), the forward is genuinely one of the game's greatest players of all time and has shown up time and time again on the biggest stage the sport has to offer.
Jalen Williams admittedly drawing influence from the Clippers star's game is truly an exciting tidbit to hear. Hopefully the work he puts into it pays off in a similar vein.