Due to a masterful job of asset management, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have two players featured during All-Star weekend.

Third-year hybrid, Jalen Williams will officially make his first-ever All-Star appearance in San Francisco. He’ll join his teammate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named an All-Star starter last week.

Williams is averaging 21.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.8 steals through 45 games. Here’s the story and rise of the latest Thunder All-Star: Jalen Williams. 

Growth Spurt

For the majority of his high school career, Williams was only 5’10. Yes, Oklahoma City’s latest All-Star was slightly taller than the average American during most of his High School and Prep career. Then, during his senior year, he hit a growth spurt to 6’2, and that’s when he really began to display the skills that would eventually lead him to becoming an NBA All-Star. 

Williams ended his high school career averaging more than 25 points per game in his senior year, while being named the Chandler Unified School District Player of the Year. Due to his size, he didn’t receive a lot of offers. He would end up committing to Santa Clara. 

Mid Major Prospect 

Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams was largely unknown following his final college season. He was a projected second-round pick, a player with intriguing physical attributes, but was thought to have limited upside. When he initially declared for the NBA draft, he made the decision to retain his college eligibility just in case things didn’t pan out.  

NBA Combine Arrival 

The NBA combine is where Williams was making his name known, grabbing the attention of numerous teams and draft experts. 

“Williams was the best player on the court in both days of the draft combine scrimmages. He got to the basket with ease, shot the ball well and had some of the best finishes in transition. Defensively, he fought through screens to keep his man in front and was effective in help-side defense, shooting the gap for steals and tips.” — Krysten Peak of Yahoo Sports

Williams’s measurements (6’6 with a 7’2 wingspan) and performance at the combine, catapulted his draft stock into the first-round. 

Oklahoma City’s Draft Excellence 

Since the franchise was moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, with Sam Presti operating as the GM, the Thunder have done a great job of identifying talent. Drafting three-MVPs (Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden), in three consecutive years, is something no other GM has done, which speaks volumes. 

Now, over a decade later, in this current iteration of the Thunder, Presti has drafted and formed another championship-contending roster. In the 2022 NBA draft, he made another shocking pick, drafting Williams 12th overall, betting on a multi-year college player (just like Westbrook) to blossom into one of the league’s best players.

Williams has quickly ascended into one of the best two-way players in the league and has gone from an intriguing young piece to an All-Star in just his third season. Since, moving this franchise to Oklahoma City 17 years ago, the amount of talent that has come through (via draft & trades), and the culture that has been built, has led to a good amount of winning.

End Of My Thunder Rant 

The 23-year-old has helped lead the Thunder to a 37-9 record, tasked with the more difficult assignments on defense, having to play one-thru-five on both sides, and even asked to play center during stretches when OKC were without one. Williams has been a two-way star, asking to be the second option on the West’s No. 1 seed. 

Get acquainted with Williams, because he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. 

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