Jalen Williams is quietly having a Rookie of the Year-caliber season for the Thunder

06.03.2023 21:46

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Jalen Williams was a standout during the 2022 NBA Draft Combine and skyrocketed up big boards to become a lottery pick for the Thunder.

He just had the best game of his professional career during a win over the Jazz on Sunday, finishing with 32 points (12-15 FG, 4-5 3P), five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks.

This was arguably the best game any rookie has had so far this season. In fact, only three rookies have ever recorded a 30-5-5 performance with a more efficient true shooting percentage: Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But this wasn’t just one good game for Williams, who has contributed well throughout the season for Oklahoma City. This is just yet another wonderful game from the former Santa Clara standout.

Williams is averaging more than 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Among the last ten rookies to accomplish as much, all but one (Cade Cunningham) either won Rookie of the Year or finished as the runner-up.

These are arbitrary thresholds, of course, but they speak to the versatility he provides for the Thunder. The catch-all metrics value Williams, too. Compare his career progression to other perimeter candidates in the Rookie of the Year race using DARKO’s DPM, which is the most trusted impact metric:

(DARKO)

Williams began his career with the lowest projection of the bunch between himself, Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin, and Jaden Ivey.

But he has managed to trend upward throughout the season and has recently even surpassed Banchero for the highest grade among the group.

According to the catch-all metric DRIP, only Utah’s Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler have exceeded preseason expectations more than Williams.

Banchero (-2500) is the heavy favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. Mathurin (+1800) is still viewed as the runner-up, though he currently has a considerable distance behind Banchero.

Williams (+4000) is a massive longshot, but he could be a sleeper hiding in plain sight. It doesn’t seem likely that he passes Banchero, but if he keeps up his hot stretch for the remainder of the season, he could steal some votes.

Even if he doesn’t win the award, however, it is still worth celebrating the fact that the No. 12 overall pick is having a Rookie of the Year-caliber season in Oklahoma City.

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The Tip-Off

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The biggest story in the NBA right now is the off-court drama surrounding Ja Morant. My friend and colleague, Mike Sykes, has more:

“The Grizzlies’ point guard hasn’t been charged on any of this alleged behavior, but none of it is a good look. And he’s also compounded all this drama with some absolutely confounding decisions in recent days. All of that has led to a brief suspension by the Grizzlies for their All-Star point guard.”

Let’s hope that Morant gets the help he needs while he is away from the team.

One to Watch

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(All odds via Tipico.)

Heat (-2.5, -150) vs. Hawks (+130), O/U 229.5, 7:30 PM ET

The Heat are a game-and-a-half ahead of the Hawks in the standings, but both these teams are underperforming so far this season. They desperately need wins to try and catch the Nets and become the No. 6 seed so they can avoid the play-in tournament.