He is best known in Oklahoma City as J-Dub.
If the small-market Thunder win four huge games in the NBA Finals, Jalen Williams will start hearing ‘Scottie Pippen’ attached to his young name — in the best possible way.
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“The thing about J-Dub is the motor and it’s the defense,” Nick Gallo, TV sideline reporter for the Thunder, exclusively told talkSPORT.
“I mean, he defends up and down the lineup.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the league’s latest MVP and is on the verge of becoming the new face of a star-obsessed sport that will soon be forced to replace LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.
But for every A, there is a B.
Michael Jordan and Pippen in the Chicago Bulls’ historic dynasty.
Curry and Klay Thompson during the Golden State Warriors’ dominance.
James with Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis as The King took his talents from Miami to Cleveland and Los Angeles.
Tyrese Haliburton reminded the basketball world that shouting ‘overrated’ at one of the best young players in the NBA is a bad idea, and his Indiana Pacers are also just four wins away from a once-unthinkable trophy.
But there’s a reason that OKC won a league-high 68 games in the regular season, then bounced Ja Morant, Nikola Jokic, and Anthony Edwards on the way to hosting Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday at Paycom Center.
The 26-year-old SGA paired with 24-year-old J-Dub has given the Thunder a 1-2 punch that could be winning huge playoff series into the next decade.
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Williams was a 6-foot point guard in high school, then added five inches, but was still overlooked.
He added to his game at small-college Santa Clara, then followed in Steve Nash’s NBA footsteps and became the No. 12 overall pick of the 2022 draft.
While OKC went 40-42 during the 2022-23 season with head coach Mark Daigneault, Williams’ second-place finish in NBA Rookie of the Year voting was an early announcement that the Thunder’s post-Russell Westbrook rebuild was over.
Williams’ nightly scoring and minutes have improved in all three of his seasons.
This year, he averaged career highs in points (21.6), rebounds (5.3) and assists (5.1), and became a perfect hardwood complement to SGA.
Williams’ Pippen-like versatility has become essential for the young Thunder, as they seek four more wins and the first NBA championship since the franchise left Seattle behind in 2008.
NBA’s Greatest
“There was a significant portion of time this year that he was playing center for this team,” Gallo said.
“When Isaiah Hartenstein was hurt, when Chet Holmgren was hurt, the other Jalen Williams, J-Will, was hurt.
“J-Dub was thrust into playing center minutes, and so was Alex Caruso. And it’s been really cool to see that experience pay dividends over the course of the season.
“Not only is J-Dub handling awesome matchups like Julius Randle or Aaron Gordon, but it’s also getting in on guys like Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards.
“The lineup flexibility and versatility that this team has is massive, to be able to swing series different directions and put other teams in binds. J-Dub is a massive part of that.”
Jordan and Pippen had to take down Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers to finally win a 1990-91 title that started a dynasty.
Four more wins in June for SGA and J-Dub, and OKC will have its own MJ and Pippen in 2025.
