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Jun 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder player Jalen Williams splashes water on fans during the 2025 NBA Oklahoma City Thunder championship parade. Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Jalen Williams' Alma Mater Holds Celebration for OKC Thunder Star

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Randall Sweet | Last updated Sep 21, 2025 4:15 PM ET

The past few weeks have been big for Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams.

To cap off a summer that saw Williams score 40 points in an NBA Finals game en route to winning the title, the 24-year-old visited China for a handful of addidas basketball events and graced the cover of SLAM Magazine No. 258, the outlet's most recent issue.

A few days later, Williams returned to Santa Clara, where he played college basketball, for a "Welcome Home" event hosted by his former school. The event took place on Sept. 20 and featured limited-edition posters, stickers and T-Shirts for attendees.

Williams, who answered questions from fans, former coaches and even current teammates at the event, also brought the Larry O'Brien Trophy to Santa Clara, marking another stop on the championship hardware's length summer journey.

From Isaiah Hartenstein taking the tophy to Germany, to Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams bringing the Larry O'Brien to their hometown of Fort Smith, Arkansas, the trophy has traveled around the world since being paraded through the streets of downtown Oklahoma City in June.

Williams' homecoming took place in Santa Clara's basketball gym, the Leavey Center, and seemed to have a solid turnout. At the end of the event, OKC's standout wing player was awarded a key to the city of Santa Clara by Mayor Lisa Gillmor.

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Join us as we celebrate NBA Champion @jdubwttp back to Leavey Center!

Full details available at the link in our bio.

: https://t.co/2C9PbWsovL #StampedeAhead | #ScoCosInThePros pic.twitter.com/A2OBgdysU0
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) September 16, 2025

Williams was selected by Oklahoma City with the No. 12 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after spending all three of his collegiate seasons with the Broncos. As a junior, Williams averaged 18 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game, earning All-Conference honors and helping Santa Clara to a 21-12 record.

Since being selected by the Thunder, the former Santa Clara star has received All-Rookie, All-Star, All-Defense and All-NBA honors while serving as the second option on a championship team. Over the offseason, Williams received a massive five-year rookie contract extension worth up to $287 million.

After signing his new deal, Williams fielded a question about what he plans to do with his newfound wealth.

"First I want to say congrats, for getting paid a lot of money," teammate Jaylin Williams said in a video played on-screen at the event.

"With all that money, you've got a lot of great teammates, what are you going to get us?"

The Santa Clara product laughed, then replied with a humerous response of his own.

"It's a quick answer, nothing," Williams said. "That's my brother, though, but he's not getting anything. He always forgets he's rich too. Hopefully another trophy."

During the 2024-25 season, Williams tallied 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 36.5% from 3-point range.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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