Rising Star Jalen Williams Unlocks Thunder’s Unorthodox Success

This current iteration of the Oklahoma City Thunder is unorthodox. Since the franchise hit reset following the trades of Paul George and Russell Westbrook in 2019, it’s been all about finding ways to be innovative and pave a unique path. Rather than following the league’s trends, Oklahoma City has rebuilt its roster and style of play under coach Mark Daigneault in unorthodox fashion over the past several years and is now a contender.

“I think we’ve had a willingness from a strategic standpoint and a team building standpoint to chase excellence, and sometimes risk failure in the process,” Daigneault said during training camp two years ago. “We have to be willing to do things a little bit differently. We’re not afraid to do that in pursuit of excellence.”

That’s come to fruition, as this team was built differently than most and has excellence on the horizon. Following a 57-win season, the Thunder is positioned to be a contender for the next half-decade or more.

One of the things that makes OKC so unique stylistically is the team’s ability to play three or more guards on the floor at nearly all times. This requires a modern big like Chet Holmgren which opens things up on both ends, but also is possible due to the level of perimeter defense the team plays.

But perhaps the most important piece in the Thunder being able to play the way the staff wants to is Jalen Williams. The 6-foot-5 rising star is one of the most well-rounded and versatile players in the entire league, which is a cornerstone piece of Oklahoma City’s style.

Although he was a point guard in college, Williams has spent most of his NBA career as a combo forward. Especially on the defensive end in Oklahoma City, he has been a power forward and has defended much bigger players. Leveraging his tremendous wingspan, he’s able to slide up and allow the Thunder to play several other guards alongside him in the lineup.

This will be especially important this season, as there’s a chance that OKC could start Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort and Alex Caruso, each of which are guards. Although Williams is also technically a guard, he can hold his own in the frontcourt alongside Holmgren, which means the Thunder have a huge advantage on the offensive end. Oklahoma City’s starting lineup will be a huge mismatch for most opposing teams. It’s incredibly difficult to defend four guards, especially when the Thunder is able to be a top defensive team on the other end and doesn’t allow teams to exploit the lack of size.

Whether it was defending a quick guard like Kyrie Irving in the playoffs, or a big like Karl-Anthony Towns or Victor Wembanyama in key regular season games, we saw it all from Williams last season. He plays four positions exceptionally well and is a huge reason the Thunder can implement the unorthodox, yet effective style of play that it has.

Jalen Williams gets it done on both ends and can play alongside any combination of four players, which is a luxury and a huge reason the Thunder is so effective from a style standpoint.