Jalen Williams Focusing on Being 'Positionless' in Sophomore Season

Oklahoma City's rising sophomore is working hard to improve his all-around game heading into a pivotal season for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City has a handful of young, blossoming stars on the roster. One of those stars is Jalen Williams, and his ceiling seems to raise a bit higher with each day that passes.

Williams came on strong at the end of the season, finishing second in the NBA’s Rookie of the Year voting and helping lead the Thunder to the play-in tournament. In an interview with Shams Charania, he discussed the big season ahead.

“Just kind of staying the course, not getting too high or too low,” Williams said. “I think that helped later on down the road, obviously I was able to get a lot more comfortable.

“Finding a belief system, our program and being around my teammates through the up and downs. We’re all young so we’re all able to lean on each other, it was big for my development throughout the year.”

Williams averaged 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists over the course of his season, and got better with every passing month. His biggest jump came in March, where he averaged 19.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists on 66.2% true-shooting. He settled into his role and was one of the biggest impact players throughout Oklahoma City’s surprise season.

Heading into year No. 2, Williams has a chance to turn into a star for the Thunder’s young nucleus. Next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he can truly blossom.

“Just trying to be big on my body, picking up some good weight, and obviously kind of lose it during the season,” Williams said. “Trying to stay healthy, maintain my body, work on a lot of the stuff I did well ending the year — stuff that I can progress through.

“Just buying into the team even more. Sitting down with our coaches, watching film, just going through that meticulous offseason and not trying to do too much that doesn’t involve basketball.”

As a teammate of Gilgeous-Alexander’s, Williams had a front row seat to SGA’s crazy development a season ago. He took an MVP-level leap — which was a big reason for OKC’s success. It’ll be a model for the entire team moving forward.

“Every player kind of wants to have the leap he did this year,” Williams said. “Obviously being First Team, his first All Star selection, stuff like that. Kind of seeing the jump he took, it’s a blessing to be able to watch the route that he’s taken.”

Williams clearly understands his role on the team is to be the Thunder’s Swiss Army knife, a mismatch nightmare. Someone that can play every position and guard every position. He has a chance to be a true star in Mark Daigneault’s system, and buying in will do wonders.

“I’ve been putting on weight,” Williams noted. “Trying to be able to be positionless and kind of do stuff like that. Just go out there and play hard.”

If the Thunder make the playoffs in 2023-24, Williams will be a big reason why. His development is certainly one to keep an eye on as the new season approaches.

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