All throughout the season, easily the biggest concern surrounding Jalen Williams was whether or not he has what it takes to be an ideal number two on this OKC Thunder squad alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
With his All-Star and All-Defensive nods, coupled with his historic run in this year's postseason, to many, the 23-year-old has clearly quieted his doubters during these latter stages of 2024-25.
His electrifying performance in Wednesday's Game 3 may have officially silenced them for good, as he finished the night with a team-high 26 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor and from deep while adding on 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal.
Unfortunately, these electrifying efforts weren't enough to help lift Oklahoma City over the Indiana Pacers, as the Thunder fell by a final score of 116-107 out at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and, in turn, fell behind in the 2025 NBA Finals 2-1.
Because of this tragic turn of events, even though Williams just got done proving the critics wrong about his potential to serve as OKC's Robin, it has now become apparent that he must bring his game and impact to a whole new, Nightwing-esque level if they wish to climb their way back into this series.
Thunder need Jalen Williams to become a 1B player, not just a sidekick
95 total games played have finally seemed to catch up to superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and this was painfully obvious during Oklahoma City's Game 3 demise.
Despite what his impressive 24 points may suggest on the surface, the point guard was far from his MVP self on the night.
From his lowly shooting splits of 45.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep, and his six turnovers (the most he's coughed up this postseason), to his highly uncharacteristic three points scored in the pivotal fourth period, it was as clear as day that SGA is running on fumes.
Even from the way he was speaking during his post-practice media session on Tuesday, the man seems to be absolutely exhausted. His several off-target shots from inside the lane and front of the rim misses on pull-ups only help strengthen these suspicions.
Because of this, as the series progresses, the Thunder's secondary and tertiary options must now look to take some of the immense pressures off Gilgeous-Alexander's shoulders in order to lighten his load a bit, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
More specifically, OKC is going to need Jalen Williams to serve more as a 1B option next to SGA's 1A instead of just a mere sidekick.
Whether it's knocking down clean catch-and-shoot looks or taking control of the ball and buying buckets on his own when his team is in need, the forward needs to start taking command of the offense more frequently moving forward in this series.
As we saw on Wednesday, especially during the high-pressure second half, where 13 of his 15 points came off self-created scoring opportunities, he's more than capable of successfully playing such a style of ball.
On a nightly basis, it seems that the Pacers switch between Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam when it comes to the question of who their number one option is.
While seamlessly matching this may be virtually impossible, as Shai is widely considered to be the best player on the planet, J-Dub shortening the gap between him and his megastar running mate should be one of the biggest goals for this Thunder team from here on out.
At this point, they may very well need this leveling up from Williams if they want to take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy.