—“Not long before [Jalen Williams](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jalen-williams-z2FafX0QarjHmDDy/) represented a proof of concept for the [Oklahoma City Thunder](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/thunder/), he dreamed big and waited for his size to match his ambitions. As a 5-foot-6 freshman in high school, his family tried to reassure him that a growth spurt was coming. That the tonnage of work he would put in could be rewarded when the genetics caught up.”
—““He started off by being very, very good in the system, with the system fundamentals on both ends of the floor,” Daigneault said. “And then his role has expanded outward from that as he’s cleared more and more hurdles and shown that he can maintain a level of efficiency with that level of freedom on both ends.””
—“Ron and Nicole Williams had always been a ballast for Jalen, the supportive parents who provided confidence when it was still delayed. Coaches, past and present, point to them as a reason for his success. They met at the Air Force Academy, and played before and after they entered the service.Ron was a 6-foot-6 point-center, and played for the Air Force’s top team that competed against other services worldwide. He was a point guard in school who sprouted late into a center’s body. Nicole passed on several athletic scholarship offers to go into the Air Force as well. She scored like a shooting guard and rebounded like a power forward.”
—“As a high school freshman in high school, he prioritized long-range shooting to make up for his size. He learned how to get his shot off against bigger defenders. Jalen had long arms and big feet even as he hovered around 6-feet, so his parents reminded him how beneficial it would be to have the skills of a point guard when he eventually began to stretch.”
—““There’s no way that I would have projected that Jalen could be a future NBA All-Star,” Ludwig said. “Does it all make sense now? Yeah. He matured physically. He grew into his body. He’s an amazing kid. He has an awesome work ethic. He comes from a great family. He’s grounded. He’s humble. He has all the intangibles. Now it all makes sense. He has all those things, right. But I would have never guessed that.””
—“He’s still got a lot of the same kind of herky-jerky game, crossing over, stop-and-going,” Holmgren said of Williams. “Playing with his size and his length, both sides of the floor. He’s making shots off the dribble at a high level. He’s really worked on that. Going left in the midrange. The 3s too. He’s added a lot to his game and I don’t think it’s gonna stop. He’s got a lot more of a vision for what he wants to be and he’s gonna continue to add throughout his career.”
—“The family still treasures the journey. They grew up [Los Angeles Lakers](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/lakers/) fans even as they worked around the world and settled in Arizona. Ron Williams is from Los Angeles and has rooted for the Lakers his entire life. Nicole Williams grew up a fan of Magic Johnson. Jalen idolized Kobe Bryant. The only thing that broke up their long talks after dinner each night were the Lakers games they would throw on the television. Williams wore No. 8 because of Bryant, and he collected Lakers action figures.”
jepayotehi
JWills been doing great this post season. Surprising considering Mark didn’t use him that much regular season.
mindclarity
On the precipice?! The man has arrived!
fuskarn_35
am i delusional for thinking that he can reach shai’s level or even higher? no holes in his game, can score from anywhere, can defend, good playmaker, elite in the clutch. only thing i wanna see from him going forward is him taking more shots, he averaged 14 FGA in the reg season and 16 FGA so far in the playoffs which is a nice bump.
OUEngineer17
Probably was very helpful to learn how to score on bigger guys growing up. So many NBA prospects are bigger, stronger, faster than everyone else they play against until they get to the NBA and have a tough adjustment.
Thunder have a legit Big 3, the rest of the NBA fanbases just don’t know it yet.
5 Comments
Some nice quotes from the article:
—“Not long before [Jalen Williams](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jalen-williams-z2FafX0QarjHmDDy/) represented a proof of concept for the [Oklahoma City Thunder](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/thunder/), he dreamed big and waited for his size to match his ambitions. As a 5-foot-6 freshman in high school, his family tried to reassure him that a growth spurt was coming. That the tonnage of work he would put in could be rewarded when the genetics caught up.”
—““He started off by being very, very good in the system, with the system fundamentals on both ends of the floor,” Daigneault said. “And then his role has expanded outward from that as he’s cleared more and more hurdles and shown that he can maintain a level of efficiency with that level of freedom on both ends.””
—“Ron and Nicole Williams had always been a ballast for Jalen, the supportive parents who provided confidence when it was still delayed. Coaches, past and present, point to them as a reason for his success. They met at the Air Force Academy, and played before and after they entered the service.Ron was a 6-foot-6 point-center, and played for the Air Force’s top team that competed against other services worldwide. He was a point guard in school who sprouted late into a center’s body. Nicole passed on several athletic scholarship offers to go into the Air Force as well. She scored like a shooting guard and rebounded like a power forward.”
—“As a high school freshman in high school, he prioritized long-range shooting to make up for his size. He learned how to get his shot off against bigger defenders. Jalen had long arms and big feet even as he hovered around 6-feet, so his parents reminded him how beneficial it would be to have the skills of a point guard when he eventually began to stretch.”
—““There’s no way that I would have projected that Jalen could be a future NBA All-Star,” Ludwig said. “Does it all make sense now? Yeah. He matured physically. He grew into his body. He’s an amazing kid. He has an awesome work ethic. He comes from a great family. He’s grounded. He’s humble. He has all the intangibles. Now it all makes sense. He has all those things, right. But I would have never guessed that.””
—“He’s still got a lot of the same kind of herky-jerky game, crossing over, stop-and-going,” Holmgren said of Williams. “Playing with his size and his length, both sides of the floor. He’s making shots off the dribble at a high level. He’s really worked on that. Going left in the midrange. The 3s too. He’s added a lot to his game and I don’t think it’s gonna stop. He’s got a lot more of a vision for what he wants to be and he’s gonna continue to add throughout his career.”
—“The family still treasures the journey. They grew up [Los Angeles Lakers](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/lakers/) fans even as they worked around the world and settled in Arizona. Ron Williams is from Los Angeles and has rooted for the Lakers his entire life. Nicole Williams grew up a fan of Magic Johnson. Jalen idolized Kobe Bryant. The only thing that broke up their long talks after dinner each night were the Lakers games they would throw on the television. Williams wore No. 8 because of Bryant, and he collected Lakers action figures.”
JWills been doing great this post season. Surprising considering Mark didn’t use him that much regular season.
On the precipice?! The man has arrived!
am i delusional for thinking that he can reach shai’s level or even higher? no holes in his game, can score from anywhere, can defend, good playmaker, elite in the clutch. only thing i wanna see from him going forward is him taking more shots, he averaged 14 FGA in the reg season and 16 FGA so far in the playoffs which is a nice bump.
Probably was very helpful to learn how to score on bigger guys growing up. So many NBA prospects are bigger, stronger, faster than everyone else they play against until they get to the NBA and have a tough adjustment.
Thunder have a legit Big 3, the rest of the NBA fanbases just don’t know it yet.