Thunder's Jalen Williams matches NBA legend Bill Walton for remarkable feat
Thunder's Jalen Williams matches NBA legend Bill Walton for remarkable feat originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams made history by stepping onto the court in the NBA Finals on Thursday.
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The league announced that the 24-year-old forward became the first player in his third season or earlier to be an All-Star, an All-NBA Team selection and an All-Defensive Team selection and to play in the NBA Finals in the same season since Hall of Famer Bill Walton in 1976-1977.
Williams was in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the Finals against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday to complete what has been a breakout season for the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft.
He averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season while earning his first All-Star selection. After the season he was named Third-Team All-NBA and All-Defensive Second Team, making both for the first time.
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By taking the court in Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday against the Indiana Pacers, Williams completed an NBA accolade checklist that had not been done in nearly five decades.
Walton, the No. 1 pick in the 1974 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, finished his third season with averages of 18.6 points and a league-leading 14.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game.
He finished second in MVP voting behind the Los Angeles Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but made Second-Team All-NBA and All-Defensive First-Team. Walton then led the Trail Blazers to their first and only NBA championship after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games.
Williams and the Thunder need four more victories to check off that final box, which would give Oklahoma City its first NBA championship, and be the franchise's first title since winning as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979.
Who is Jalen Williams?
Williams is a forward for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder.
How old is Jalen Williams?
Williams is 24-years-old. He was born on April 14, 2001.
Where is Jalen Williams from?
Williams was born in Denver, Colorado. He attended high school in Arizona.
Where did Jalen Williams go to college?
Williams played three seasons at Santa Clara in California.
When was Jalen Williams drafted?
Williams was the No. 12 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Thunder.
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Indiana was also aggressive in showing help in the gaps on Gilgeous-Alexander's isolations and drives, and 'next-ing' his pick-and-rolls — having the defender who's nearest to the play switch over onto SGA as he drives, with his initial defender switching back onto SGA's now-uncovered teammate — to try to corral him in the two-man game. 'He's the MVP of our league, so you're not going to shut a guy like that down,' Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said Saturday. 'He's a special talent. It's just about making things as difficult as possible and trying to tire him out and wear him down. Credit to everyone that guarded him. They played a part in trying to do that. Obviously, he had a phenomenal game, but it's a collective effort.' That effort extends to the defensive end of the floor: The Pacers went 7-for-12 in Game 1 on plays where Gilgeous-Alexander was the closest defender, according to NBA Advanced Stats. As they did to Brunson last round, Indiana at times looked to target Gilgeous-Alexander — putting him into action, leveraging size mismatches on switches, attacking him in isolation — to ensure that he wouldn't get the benefit of a breather when he didn't have the ball: 'I think that's what we're trying to do: just make him work on both ends,' McConnell said. 'I mean, he's a great player. And you know, when great players play a lot of minutes, it can kind of get into their legs. Obviously, I'm not sure we saw a lot of that — he had 38 points. But it's a process thing.' Advertisement Indiana will continue trusting that process, betting that the deposits they put in early will pay off with compound interest late. The Game 1 effort already paid some dividends, though, by influencing Gilgeous-Alexander to put the onus largely on himself. He passed out of just two of his 27 drives — emblematic of an outing that saw him call his own number more frequently than usual. 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