Stiles Points: Jaylin Williams 3-Point Shooting Can Prove Big in Playoffs

The Oklahoma City Thunder dismantled the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday to clinch the NBA Northwest Division and match its win total from a year ago at 57 wins. Jaylin Williams dropped a triple-double but showed a trait that could come in handy in the playoffs.

Mar 19, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) runs down the court after scoring against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

At the 10:04 mark Jaylin Williams hit a no-dip corner 3 to spark a 76ers timeout as the Oklahoma City Thunder capped off a 10-0 that effectively ended the game as the Philadelphia 76ers in name only had no answers for the shorthanded Thunder.

It did continue a trend though. Not only has Williams turned into a good shooter in his NBA career but his evolution has continued into this season where he is shooting more no-dip 3s than ever before.

"Kinda just knowing that I am going to get open looks. I play with a lot of great players that are going to get me a lot of open looks. When I get those open looks, I want to hit those shots. That was one of my emphasis this summer, just working on [No-dip 3s] and continuing to get better at that. My teammates and coaches trust me, Chip [Engelland] gets super excited as soon as he sees me do a no dip 3, so I just try to be confident in shooting that shot," Williams said after the game.

A no dip triple is a valuable trait. It gives the defense less time to react and gets the Oklahoma City Thunder more open looks in the process, especially when scoring gravity players such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams are on the floor that suck in defenses and spit the ball back out to the perimeter. That's what led the Arkansas product to develop this aspect of his game.

"Trying to expand my game, get better shots for myself and get more shots for myself. I've been a pretty good 3 point shooter so far in my career and I knew guys would start to close out maybe a little bit harder than what they have the past two years. I knew I wouldn't have as much time. So I just thought of that throughout the summer trying to get more shots, better shots for me," Williams explained.

Williams has been a world better shooter than he was at the college ranks. At the University of Arkansas, the big man went 24-for-94 (25%) from beyond the arc. In a three NBA seasons? That mark has climbed to 37% with 385 attempts from the 3-point line.

This has been a shocking development from the outside looking in, though when you factor in his role at Arkansas and the fact he did his the 70-plus% free throw percentage threshold used to project touch and shooting upside, perhaps it shouldn't have been.

"I didn't shoot a lot at Arkansas because i just played my role...Pre-Draft, I shot a lot of shots. Six days a week I was working out two workouts a day on the court. Probably shooting thousands of shots a day. I knew that expanding my game to the outside was going to be super important...Throughout my career just building that confidence to shoot that shot, when you have the belief from your coaches, your teammates and the people around you, I have no choice but to believe in myself when I am shooting those shots," Williams said when asked about his 3-point turnaround at the pro-level.

Williams has never lacked confidence in letting the ball fly since dawning a Thunder uniform and that began back in training camp his rookie season.

"He came into training camp as a rookie and was firing away. When a guy comes in and is shooting it with that kind of confidence, you just take note. He didn't shoot it great. DJ White was a video assistant at the time. I remember watching practice film early and I was like 'Can J-Will shoot?' because I didn't know but he was firing it up like he could," head coach Mark Daigneault said, "And DJ White was like 'Yeah, I think he can shoot' and I was like 'Well, DJ, that is your stake' and so DJ White is 1-0 on that one...[Jaylin Williams] is a great developmental story for us."

This season, Williams is posting averages of 5.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 stocks per game while shooting 41% from the floor, 35% from 3-point land and 76% at the charity stripe per game in 39 contests that have featured a consistently fluid role.

Wednesday game –– much like his Portland triple-double –– can be pushed to the side as a gaudy statline that creates a fun story but is a byproduct of circumstances. But, there are tangible things to take from his fun with numbers that help Oklahoma City as the games ramp up in intesity come playoff time.

His ability to get clean triples off in a blink of an eye will serve well on postseason spray outs coupled with his career-high rebounding mark which tangibly shows the progression of his aggression level at the rim. Those traits can not be shoved aside as swiftly as the eye-popping statline can.

As Oklahoma City hopes to go on a deep playoff run, it will take the entire team stepping up to reach its goals –– especially if either of the two primary bigs (Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren) get into foul trouble during a playoff game. Williams will be ready when the game swings in his direction.

Song of the Day: Under Your Spell Again by Buck Owens.

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