ESPN: Scottie Pippen sees similarities in Jalen Williams, but expects him to be greater

USA Today

7 hours ago

ESPN: Scottie Pippen sees similarities in Jalen Williams, but expects him to be greater
A win away from an NBA championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder could spend their upcoming weekend letting their guards down and celebrating several years' worth of work. The Indiana Pacers are on the ropes. Considering Tyrese Haliburton's calf strain, they could experience a grueling reality of the road team popping champagne in their locker room.
If the Thunder clinch a championship in Game 6, Jalen Williams' stock will skyrocket past the ceiling. The 24-year-old entered the NBA playoffs as one of the biggest question marks. Two months later, he could be viewed as a consensus top player.
That's what happens when you score an efficient 40 points in an NBA Finals win. Only a special group of players has accomplished that feat before their fourth season. All Hall-of-Famers. If the Thunder get one more win, they'll cap off one of the most dominant campaigns ever.
That will make the comparisons to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen a little less daunting. It's easy to draw the line between Jordan and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both are superbly efficient 30-point scorers who have won the MVP award. When you look at what Gilgeous-Alexander has done this season, he shares plenty of statistical categories with Jordan.
But the Pippen and Williams comparison is a recent phenomenon. It's always been there if you dug deep enough, but the 24-year-old being the second-best player on a possible title winner has bubbled to the surface in the public's consciousness.
Both are elite two-way wings who can drop an efficient 20-plus points. Pippen recently told ESPN's Tim MacMahon he's honored to get compared to Williams. The Hall-of-Famer even said he has more room to grow because of the scoring freedoms he's been given compared to when he played.
"He is pretty special," Pippen told ESPN. "I'm enjoying watching him. I see a lot of me in him for sure. I see a guy rising to be one of the top players in this league. He's definitely a player that is capable of being able to lead that franchise to multiple championships -- him and Shai, of course."
That's quite the player comparison to live up to. But considering what Williams has accomplished in the last three seasons, it's easy to see the long runway he has to popularize the Pippen whispers. Regardless of the 2025 NBA Finals, the Thunder won't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Expect plenty more Mays and Junes to feature the powerhouse.
"I don't even want to put a cap on him to say that he's going to be me," Pippen said. "I see him being greater, if I can say that. Just because of where the game is today. They have offensive freedom. We didn't have that. We mostly ran out of a system. These guys have the freedom to shoot 3-balls and things of that nature. Players that are playing in today's game have a chance to be better than players in the past because of the ability to shoot the ball.
It's nice to see Williams receive his flowers at a national level. But don't expect the 24-year-old to smell them just yet. The Thunder still need one more win. While everybody else has seemingly penciled OKC as the eventual winner after two straight wins over the Pacers, expect them to really need to earn that final victory.