Jalen Williams Embraces Pressure of NBA Finals In Year 3

The NBA Finals are underway as the Oklahoma City Thunder stumbled in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers to fall behind in the series 0-1.

In that game, the Thunder collapsed in the fourth quarter to hand the game over to the never say die Pacers who were more than willing to snatch it with brilliant final frame execution.

Oklahoma City needed more from Jalen Williams, the third year swingman that has made himself an All-Star and All-Defensive player while being called upon to be a No. 2 option on an NBA Finals squad.

After turning in a lowly 17 points on 19 shot attempts, the NBA world was reminded of just how hard it is to deliver on this stage this early in a player's career.

At NBA Finals Media Day ahead of Game 2 Saturday, Williams was asked about the challenges of being in this spot so early in his NBA life.

"I try and think of myself as somebody that's very uncommon. I don't ever think that I'm in my third year because then that allows me to make excuses. I should just go out there and play. Pressure is a privilege. So I enjoy being counted on and doing that, and I just think I've been counted on since, I feel like, last year, to be totally honest, just in regard to being there for the rest of the guys. And now we're here in the Finals," Williams explained.

The best way to approach this moment is to block out the narratives and noise around this series and embracing the challenges that come along with it.

"So I don't really see it that much different. I’m never really like, oh, this is my third year. The only time I think about that is there's so much more I can do and how much stuff I can get better at. But I never really try and use it as this is my third year and use it as an excuse, you know what I mean," The All-Star detailed.

The Thunder have to bounce back in Game 2 to avoid going into a disastrous 0-2 hole. Oklahoma City will need more for its co-stars to make that happen on Sunday.