NBA Draft Interview: Jalen Williams Talks NBA Future And Basketball Life

Ahead of Thursday’s NBA Draft, Jalen Williams took some time to talk with SI Fastbreak about what allowed him to become a projected first-round pick and how he sees himself contributing in the NBA right away.

Brett Siegel | Jun 22, 2022

NBA Draft Interview: Jalen Williams Talks NBA Future And Basketball Life /

From the end of the college basketball season to right now before the 2022 NBA Draft, nobody has seen their draft stock rise as much as Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams.

Putting together a terrific Junior year, Williams earned an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine in May and really stood out as one of the breakout performers, cementing his spot in the first-round of this year’s draft.

Williams currently finds himself ranked No. 19 overall in our Big Board 5.0 and is projected to go to the Denver Nuggets with the No. 21 overall pick in our latest Mock Draft 4.0.

With the 2022 NBA Draft set to take place on Thursday June 23, Williams talked with SI Fastbreak recently about the role basketball played in his life growing up and what the next chapter of his basketball journey looks like with his NBA future about to begin.

Growing up, what kind of a role did basketball play in your life and what was life like for you and your family?

Jalen Williams: My life, even now obviously more so than ever, revolves around basketball. I started playing when I was around four-years-old. Both of my parents played in the Air Force while they were serving so it’s kinda just been heavy, like basketball games have always been on. I grew up watching Kobe Bryant, so a lot of that filtered into my childhood plan and my brother also plays so you know, just going through AAU together and kind of just playing basketball. When you get bored, you go outside and hoop and we grew up playing 2K as well. Basketball has always just been a big part of our identity.

The jump you made from your sophomore season at Santa Clara to your junior season was very impressive. What changed for you this past season to turn you into the player you are right now?

JW: I think just being able to work out consistently. You know, we went through a “COVID phase” where it was really hard to get into the gym and especially for Santa Clara, our county was so bad. We went a month-and-a-half without playing and we got tired of having to be on “COVID shutdown,” so just being able to finally get back in the gym during the spring and summer and actually workout and have the restrictions lifted is where I took the biggest jump. Just kind of living in the gym and perfecting stuff that I really had to work on, but just couldn’t strictly because of COVID. Just being able to do that consistently helped me grow.

You were one of the standout performers at this year’s NBA Draft Combine. What do you feel in regards to your own game stood out amongst the rest of the combine’s participants?

JW: I think a lot of it was my willingness to just play at the combine. I think that really stood out and a lot of people really brought that up. Everyone for the most part is really talented, so just how hard I played and my willingness to defend really jumped out at a lot of teams. Obviously there is the offensive side of my game that everyone kind of knows I have, but it is kind of different seeing it in person which I think was also big for me.

Okay, I have to ask this building off the combine talk because we always hear some crazy stories from the draft prospects about the questions they are always asked. What is the craziest or weirdest question you were asked by a team?

JW: I wouldn’t say weird, but from an interesting standpoint, at the time, everyone was still trying to figure me out. I had about 18 interviews and every interview, I basically talked about how my parents were in the military. Just going from one meeting to the next, I knew I was going to talk about that aspect of my life. Something that gets overlooked is the number of interviews you do over the set number of days and kind of repeating the same information is an experience in its own.

Right, I mean we hear all the time about guys being asked about their favorite flavor of bubble gum, favorite drink, favorite color of shoes and all of these other crazy questions.

JW: Oh yeah, I mean you get the “what’s your favorite food” and all of that. For me, it was probably “what is the worst thing you have ever done?” That was a weird question, especially for me, because I have not done anything bad, but it's like do you “out yourself” and now your parents are mad at you because you may have done something earlier, but I think that was kind of the strangest, funny question that I got.

On the court, a lot of people are aware of who Jalen Williams is now and I am sure more will become familiar with you during your rookie year in the NBA, but who is Jalen Williams off-the-court?

JW: I am pretty chill. I really don’t have a lot going on right now. I mean I am pretty sure that will change here very shortly in the next couple of days, but I like to just kick it and kind of just walk around malls and hang out with my group of friends, just kind of laying low. I am super friendly and don’t mind taking pictures and doing all of that stuff out in public. I feel like I am very approachable a lot of times, but like I said, I’m pretty to myself.

Throughout the pre-draft process, what would you say is the best piece of advice you have received either from another player, league executive, etc.?

JW: Just constantly being yourself throughout this process, I think that’s kind of trending a lot. That has kind of been my feedback. Teams have liked the way that I always be myself and not really change. I think that’s something that they kind of ask me to look out for as far as constantly being myself and not really switching up. Being confident in my abilities and being comfortable in your own skin.

What teams have you worked out for ahead of the draft?

JW: I worked out with the Clippers, Golden State, Denver, Milwaukee, Memphis, San Antonio. I just came back from Cleveland the other day, Oklahoma City and there’s a couple more that I can’t think of off the top of my head… Atlanta was one of them. I had great workouts and it was really fun to be out there and travel the world. It kind of gave me a little taste of the 82 games, yeah like a little intro to an NBA season.

What current or former NBA players do you look up to and are there any you have tried to model your game after?

JW: Growing up, I was a huge Kobe fan, so you know, that was someone I looked up to. Around 16, I kind of figured that I was not going to be playing like Kobe just based off of our builds, but Kobe was a huge influence. I think now, I kind of resemble a lot of Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] out in Oklahoma City. I think me and him have a lot of the same tendencies, similar build and how he just plays the game. I think what makes good players is being able to just pick up different stuff from anybody whether it be a big or a guard and just kind of learn from everybody is what does it. I would just say Shai probably for me if I was to pick one person. That would be the closest that I have modeled my game after.

Where do you see yourself fitting into the “modern day NBA” and where do you see yourself standing out in the NBA?

JW: Being an on or off-the-ball threat as far as offense, but I think defensively, just being able to move around and rotate into a small-ball lineup and be able to guard the 4 and guard the 3. If I need to guard the 1, then do that, so I think just being able to be versatile would be big.

I have not seen one analyst mark you down as a second-round prospect, everyone sees you as a guy that will go in the first-round, myself included. What will it mean to you to hear commissioner Adam Silver call out your name on draft night?

JW: I think it will be an awesome experience. This is something you grow up thinking about and every hooper can attest to that. It is something you dream about and look forward to. But yeah, it will definitely be a surreal moment for me. I am kind of looking forward to whatever happens on that night, but to be able to share it with my family and everyone that has been around for the process will be even cooler.

I know you don’t know where you will end up yet in terms of the team that drafts you, but what should fans of the team that selects you in this year’s draft be excited about?

JW: That’s a good question. I think being a good character person and someone that is willing to work and embrace the role, embrace the city as well. Just going for that, someone that will be fun to interact with, but also bring that winning attitude to the team.

The 2022 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 23.