Jalen Williams is The Perfect Fit in The Thunder's Blueprint, Let's Break Down The Tape

Jalen Williams shares many traits with the Thunder's returning backcourt.

The Thunder do not select based on consensus.

Going into Thursday’s NBA Draft, the expectation was that the Oklahoma City Thunder would be taking two dice rolls in the lottery. Instead, the Thunder garnered three pick-ups, Chet Holmgren at 2, Ousmane Dieng at 11, and Jalen Williams at 12.

When factoring in the consensus top boards, Williams had been pegged as an afterthought in being on Thunder radars. At age 21, the 6-foot-6 wing had been commonly ruled out for one reason or another.

However, despite clamors of being a mock draft reach, Sam Presti dialed into the league office to select “Jalen Williams, Santa Clara” in their lottery capper. And they couldn’t have found a better fit for their blueprint.

Let’s break down the tape on how Williams' game fits with the roster:

Shooting Capabilities

Jalen Williams emerged to the three-point scene as a Junior. While he did show flashes as an underclassman, he put it all together, shooting 42-of-106 (39.6%) from the three and 80.9% from the line. Both of these statistics marked career bests.

When tapping into Williams’ future role with the Thunder, it’s most likely to see him pinned at a wing or corner as a primary target for catch-and-shoot attempts, but his range extends much further from a face-up.

Shot Creation

The report of Williams tends to tab the guard as an off-ball connector with some playmaking skills. However, he's also able to put the ball on the deck and create for himself at all three levels.

While Williams' typical on-ball play sees him attack the basket, he's flashed potential as a player who can create space from deep with his tight handle and stepback jumper.

In this clip, Williams gets his new teammate Chet Holmgren with a between-the-legs leading into a crossover. With Holmgren backpedaling, he immediately got into his release to beat Holmgren on the close out.

The Fit:

The Oklahoma City Thunder have built their current team on shot creators. SGA and Tre Mann have, on occasion, generated one-man offenses due to their ability to stepback and hit shots. Williams' initial role may not subject himself to as many reps, but his ability to create space for shots gives him the opening to being the second scoring option on the court. 

Catch-and-Shoot

Since tracking became available nine years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder ranked 269 out of 270 in catch-and-shoot threes last season, clocking a 32.6% output. The lone team worse was the Josh Smith-led Detroit Pistons in 2013-14. The Pistons shot 14.0 threes in that season while the Thunder launched nearly double at 27.2 tries per game.

They need help in the catch-and-shoot department, and Jalen Williams provides it.

Mechanically, Williams' catch-and-shoot three is sound. While his release is not the quickest, he does a great job posturing his feet towards the basket and getting right into the release.

While Williams showed confidence shooting on open catch-and-shoot tries, his most defining trait comes with his calmness on close outs. Per Synergy, Williams shot 61.5% (16-of-26) on contested catch-and-shoot jumpers, meaning he's an extremely trusty option if any guard gets trapped in the painted area.

Thunder Fit:

With Williams being the likely off-ball sidekick to SGA, Giddey, or Mann, his primarily role begin likely has him slotted in a wing or corner to open space on high-ball screens to open the year. Due to the Thunder banking on a five-out offense and high-ball screens, dribble drives often times led to defender's collapsing inside last year, simply because OKC had to established shooters. Adding Williams to the mix adds a clear-cut weapon to the franchise, creating a ripple effect on defense if opponents elect to leave him open.

Mid-Range Game

The beauty of Williams’ game is that he’s able to pick his spots on the floor. Particularly, he’s grown into a solid player working in the mid-range.

While the art of the mid-range game has in large part been lost in the name of basketball analytics, there's still extreme value in producing at this level.

Williams shed a ton of light in this range as he became the Broncos' top option on inbounds passes, largely due to his ability to can baseline jumpers on the move. With the ball in his hands, he's able to drive into the teeth of the defense and pick his spots, banking on a leaning jumper for baskets.

Thunder Fit:

The mid-range game is boldened when the shot clock hits its lowest. With teams frequently taking bad late shot-clock attempts, it's valuable to have someone like Williams who can get the ball from deep, dribble a few steps in, and launch a mid-range jumper in a matter of seconds.

On-Ball Creation

As aforementioned, being able to kickstart the offense has become an uber-valuable trait in the NBA, particularly in the backcourt. With the Thunder already having three certified ball handlers with SGA, Giddey, and Mann, adding a third creator in the draft who could create their own bucket was pivotal. They've found that piece with Williams.

Slashing to the Basket

At 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Williams does not shy away from taking contact at the basket. This season, he shot 100-140 (71.4%) at the rim, wiggling his way to 4.3 free throw attempts per game in the process.

This year, his ability to drive to the cup became his calling card in one-on-one situations as his frame and overall handling made him an extremely tough cover once he got into the teeth of the defense.

Williams' drives came in all different types of situations, isolation, DHOs, in transition, where ever he fell on the scale he yielded success. He's a sneaky good contortionist when he gets to the cup as he can go up-and-under with ball for scoop layups or pivot in the post to find a proper angle.

The Fit:

With the Thunder locked in on five-out sets, having players who can get to basket whether off a screen or off a catch is crucial to their overall success. Williams has shown to be a trusty player able to get by his cover and take the hit from the second wall of the defense.

Pick-and-Roll Scoring

The pick-and-roll has become the staple of modern-day play as with players possessing high levels of ball handling and range, it's become crucial for team's to load their roster with sound pick-and-roll players.

Jalen Williams is a hard cover coming off a screen.

Williams is a meticulous mover playing out of the pick-and-roll, a pace setter if you will. On some occasions, he'll look to be the aggressor, teeing up a size-up combination before looking to knife at the basket. At other times, he'll slowly get around the screen, get his defender on his back, and keep him on his backside until the shot goes up.

One of the more alluring factors of Williams' game is because of his mid-range excellence, he's able to stop-and-pop 10 feet out from the basket for shots, too.

The Fit:

The Thunder have played through the pick-and-roll since starting their rebuild two seasons ago. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has led the league in drives the last two seasons and Josh Giddey has been on the rear-view mirror placing 11.5 drives last season.

You can never have too many pick-and-roll pieces on the roster. Williams adds another cog to the system as an all-around threat off a screen.

Playmaking

Jalen Williams wasn't even 6-feet tall as a Junior in high school. Because of this, he had to master the role of being a guard, passing included. While with the Broncos, he touched up on his passing game, however, this season marked a breakthrough.

As one of Santa Clara's primary ball-handlers, Williams soared in assist numbers, averaging 4.4 assists to 2.1 turnovers per game. The craziest part is, his passing ability will be strengthened once placed into NBA spacing. 

Passing Vision

Being able to scan the court is a must for potential ball-handlers. With Jalen Williams, he can not only evaluate the floor at a high level, but make tantalizing passes out of near thin air. 

Williams has a well-decorated bag as a passer. He's able to be make touch passes with ease, tap passes with either hand, and keep tabs on the floor for no-look dishes.

Outside of his pristine passing vision, his best trait might be how he can manipulate multiple defenders with his footwork. One he pivots, he's able to swim around smaller defender's inside, forcing centers to either help or sacrifice an open look. 

The Fit:

The Thunder have prided themselves on their assortment of passers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey have routinely made jaw-dropping kick outs, Aleksej Pokusevski had extreme passing upside, and Vit Krejci was added for his playmaking abilities.

In this draft class, the Thunder's two other lottery selections in Ousmane Dieng and Holmgren also play to the role of unique passers, so is Williams.

Pick-and-Roll Passing

As aforementioned, Williams is very good at taking contact around the basket. However, his most valuable trait comes with his ability to pass the ball out of a drive.

Williams boasts extremely high intelligence when coming off a screen. With most teams structuring their scouting reports heavily on Williams, hedging on screens was the common scenario he was faced against.

Instead of succumbing to pressure, Williams did a stellar job creating passing windows to his big man, slashing to side for bounce passes or rising up over his defender for a bullet pass. Per Synergy, he ranked in the 86th percentile as a pick-and-roll handler, and it's no surprise.

The Fit:

While the Thunder do have a slew of high-level players on dribble-drives, Williams has his own blend of size, footwork, and mid-range game others on the roster do not. 

Because of Oklahoma City's shaky catch-and-shoot numbers last season, it's important to have players who not only can finish through contact but also make the proper read when defender's collapse to the facet. Williams is a multi-faceted contributor off the screen, meaning he fills out well in either category.

Off-Ball Creation

While Williams does find a lot of his success with the ball in his hands, he's able to pack a punch off the ball as well.

As displayed in his passing ability, Williams has a strong sense of where players lie on the court. Because of this, he's able to make daylight even out of the smallest glimpse off a lane. 

Off-ball rotations are also a clear strength with Williams as he does a good job staying in the ball-handlers peripheral throughout plays. The most translatable benefit to this rests in his catch-and-shoot game, as this attentiveness places him in open situations.

The Fit:

The likely outcome is that Williams will be the secondary or tertiary ball-handler in most rotations for the Thunder. Because of this, being able to understand floor spacing and where potential crevices lie is pivotal to compliment Oklahoma City's backcourt. 

One of the beauties of playing for Oklahoma City is that some of their ball-handlers thrive passing at the top-of-the-key, primarily Josh Giddey. Because of this, his work playing backdoor should be amplified in Bricktown, along with his catch-and-shoot repertoire.  

Defensive Versatility

At 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Williams has the quintessential mold of a multi-positional defender.

Williams' length is apparent when evaluating him on the defensive end. He's an active defender, meaning he's able to sneak into passing lanes for interceptions or pass deflections.

At his frame, he also has proven to be a solid pick-and-roll defender in all coverages. If Santa Clara ever elected to switch on screens, Williams played accordingly by getting to his new assignment, and utilizing his length to mitigate larger defenders.

The Fit:

Williams is the wing defender the Thunder have long been waiting for. After searching for lengthy wings at the NBA and G League level, he brings a well-versed defensive palate of activity, awareness, and positionless play that others simply did not provide. When you combine this with his offensive game, he's a slam dunk in Oklahoma City's system.

Overall:

For the Oklahoma City Thunder's current blueprint, there was no better wing fit in this class than Jalen Williams. His ability to convert on catch-and-shoot triples, both open and contested, check one of the Thunder's biggest boxes going into the summer. As a smooth ball-handler and passer out of the pick-and-roll, he meshes right into the backcourt as an initiator for the roster.

Defensively, the Thunder have prided themselves upon selecting lengthy players in the past. But none may add the same impact as Williams. Because of his multi-positional status, he severely helps their play against high-ball screens while also being a capable option in a bevy of situations.

Rotationally, Williams solves the team's ongoing issue at addressing the wing positions. With his uncanny measurables, he's able to play the two or three position with little-to-no drop-off in production. For a roster that's constantly taking shape, he'll be able to carve out a role, no matter the circumstance.

Leading into the draft, Oklahoma City had shaped their backcourt with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, and Tre Mann, but they still needed a fourth option. Jalen Williams adds the final piece to the puzzle while adding his own flare to Bricktown's batallion.

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