On a tap, Jalen Williams may have saved the Thunder season

After losing the previous game to Charlotte in the absence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder came close to wasting another cartridge. At home, and still without SGA, Mark Daigneault’s troops were trailing by one point (105-106) 14 seconds from the end, following a 3-pointer from Cory Joseph.

It took Lu Dort to snatch the last in-between, Josh Giddey to recover the ball from the baseline and twirl to shoot, and above all Jalen Williams to pull off the decisive tap to snatch the victory!

“These are actions taken with the guts and the will” detailed the Oklahoma City coach. The rookie, for his part, took a good shower during the post-match interview. “My hair is already going all over the place. I’m not going to complain about getting them a little wet” he amused himself like this.

On the field, Jalen Williams was after the final buzzer surrounded by his teammates, who came to celebrate this important basket in the race for the playoffs. A tap that may have saved his team’s season since it keeps Dallas in two games, with the “tie-breaker” on the Texas franchise. The little troop was so carried by the adrenaline that it ended up almost in the middle of the fans.

“In all this, a fan caught me” explains Jalen Williams. “That’s when I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I’m a bit close to the public.’ But it’s an incredible moment to share.

Rookie of the year?

This performance (27 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists) is the latest in a big series for the OKC rookie. Since the All-Star Break, he is even without doubt the best “first year” with 19.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists on average, with 56% success rate including 46% from 3-pointers in 18 games!

For JJ Redick and others, he could even be elected “Rookie of the year”, or at least be a credible option, even if Paolo Banchero remains the immense favorite. It is that the first choice of the last Draft is less effective (19.9 points on average this season, at 43% of success including 29% at 3-points against 14.1 points on average for Jalen Williams, at 52% of success and 36 % from afar). As JJ Redick explains all the same, the roles of the two players are very different, Paolo Banchero having been directly promoted to the first option of his team, with defenses more focused on him, when Jalen Williams is the third or fourth option.

Still, the former Santa Clara remains a great surprise for Oklahoma City. With his stature, his power but also his reading of the game, he brings a lot to the Thunder, making the game smoother while being able to take it on his own if necessary. And he does the little things that help a team win, as the Pistons have seen.