OKC Thunder Rising Star Spent the Summer Preparing For the Playoffs

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Jalen Williams improve as a scorer using his physicality to get to his spots. That improvement comes from his summer workouts with a key focus in mind.

This season, the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-20) have consistently been one of the best teams in the NBA. The leap from a play-in team to a Western Conference power has largely been attributed to their Most Valuable Player candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising star Jalen Williams. 

Williams has turned into a prolific scorer at all three levels dominating with efficiency and taking over games in the clutch to allow Oklahoma City to rack up wins. His second and fourth-quarter scoring barrages and defensive impact have proven large in most games. 

The Sophomore forward is shooting 69 percent at the rim, 48 percent in the mid-range and 45 percent from beyond the arc. That scoring efficiency at all three levels has been a product of the Thunder swingman being able to score through, around and over defenders.

This season the 22-year-old is using his shoulder to initiate contact bumping defenders off their spot and getting a clean look off to increase his point per game total by five points. This week Williams was asked what went into his improved physicality.  

"Lifting a lot of weights this summer to be able to take those hits. I do not want to keep harping on the playoff thing but obviously, as you start trickling down it gets a lot more physical." Williams said, "Understanding where I want to be at on the court and just figuring out ways to get there." 

The Thunder swingman said it was something he harped on this summer understanding how to improve his physicality as the league gets more physical in the postseason. After a taste of that in the play-in tournament last season, this team has shifted their focus to being the best they can be come playoff time. 

Up next, the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday after a rare three-day stretch of off days. 

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