Jalen Williams Discusses Growing up with Younger Brother and 2024 NBA Draft Prospect Cody Williams

Cody Williams is one of the best prospects in the 2024 NBA Draft, but has high expectations as the younger brother of OKC Thunder rising star Jalen Williams.

Jalen and Cody Williams /

As the 2024 NBA Draft takes place this evening, one of the first players who could hear their name called in the lottery is Cody Williams — a one-and-done freshman who played at Colorado. A dynamic combo forward with tremendous upside, he will be following in the footsteps of his older brother and rising NBA star of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jalen Williams.

As part of a partnership with STARRY and Buffalo Wild Wings, celebrating the perfect pairing of the two brands, the Williams brothers are collaborating as a duo ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft. To celebrate Cody finally joining Jalen in the league, the Williams brothers are putting their sibling rivalry and love of Buffalo Wild Wings and STARRY on display in an entertaining and creative mockumentary-style short where they introduce the world to their “third brother” – Barry. 

“I’m excited to finally fulfill my dream and hear my name called to finally play pro ball like my big bro” Cody recently said. “Post-draft I’ll be celebrating taking the league by storm with my brother, along with another iconic duo, B-Dubs and STARRY.”

While both brothers project to be phenomenal NBA players, their paths to the league look quite different. It took Jalen three years of college ball at Santa Clara to develop physically and refine a skillset that was worthy of being taken in the lottery at 21 years old. Conversely, Cody is set to be taken in the lottery at just 19 with one college season under his belt. 

As such, the Colorado prospect is less physically developed as he waits to hear which team will select him this evening, standing at 6-foot-9 but having just a 178-pound frame. That's the biggest knock on his game when it comes to his production translating to the NBA. While that shouldn’t be concerning for any player of his age, the fact that we have the datapoint of his older brother’s physical development leaves additional room for optimism. 

Both Jalen and Cody recently sat down with Inside the Thunder, discussing their respective journeys to the NBA and what to expect next. During that time, Jalen discussed why Cody's slender frame at age 19 shouldn’t be a concern, especially given he didn’t start really putting on weight himself until almost 21. 

“What did everybody else look like at 19? I think because we're athletes in everybody's brain you're supposed to look a certain way,” Jalen told Inside the Thunder. “But when you get to be a grown man, you start to put on grown man weight. You start filling out as an adult. I’ve always told him [Cody] as long as you're lifting and your frame is expanding —  like you can kind of see his shoulders already getting bigger — It'll come, the weight will come. I started putting on weight at like 21.”

Not only is there still time for Cody to add to his frame, but he’s also ahead of the curve when it comes to natural talent and skill. Again, he’s two years ahead of his brother when it comes to making it to the NBA, but being the better athlete despite being younger is nothing new for him.

“He was the better athlete growing up, even though we're that many years apart. It sucks — He grew faster, he didn't have an awkward period, like he just got more athletic. He got it all. He was faster than he at every point, stronger, bigger. So he's probably the better athlete at every age,” Jalen recollected when discussing their childhood. 

Given the development track that Cody is on, it’s no surprise he will have the chance to be selected in the early part of the lottery in the 2024 NBA Draft. He has the pedigree, size, length and skillset to be an elite two-way player on the floor. 

Regardless of whether he ends up in Oklahoma City with his brother or not, the bond between these two brothers will continue to be special. 

“Cody and I have been inseparable since the day he was born,” Jalen said recently. “We’ve always had a bit of family competitiveness keeping the Dubs Brothers at the top of our game.”

The 2024 NBA Draft is set to take place tonight at 7 p.m. CT, as Jalen and Cody Williams will officially become the newest set of brothers with the chance to take over the league.

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