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Thunder's Jalen Williams Makes NBA Finals History During Game 5 vs. Pacers

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zachary Rainey | Last updated Jun 17, 2025 2:19 AM ET

After making the NBA Finals just once before in their young history, the Oklahoma City Thunder now sit just one win away from hoisting the Larry O'Brien for the first time. While they allowed the Indiana Pacers to pull close in the fourth quarter, they quickly grew the lead back up to put to bed any hopes of a Pacers comeback.

While the Thunder were the No. 1 team in the NBA in terms of defensive efficiency in the regular season, they've seemingly hit another gear, forcing the Pacers into 22 turnovers compared to their 11. In fact, they became the first team in NBA Finals history to record 15-plus steals and 12-plus blocks in a game.

Thunder's Jalen Williams makes NBA Finals history

While the Most Valuable Player Award winner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the catalyst for the team all season, it was a different member of the Thunder who stepped up in a significant way in the all-important Game 5 win.

Williams scored a game-high 40 points on 14-for-25 shooting and 9-for-12 from the free-throw line, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 31 on 9-for-21 shooting and 13-for-14 from the free-throw line. With his inspired performance, Williams is now a part of NBA history.

According to The Athletic, at just 24 years and 63 days old, Williams became the third-youngest player since the merger to score 40 or more points in an NBA Finals. He joins only Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook to have accomplished such a feat.

At 24 years and 63 days old, Jalen Williams is the third-youngest player since the merger to score 40+ PTS in the NBA Finals.

He only trails Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook. pic.twitter.com/brhOvh516s
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 17, 2025

While Williams is likely incredibly excited to have had such a performance, the No. 1 goal was to win the game and put his team in the best position to not only win the game but also the series.

The Thunder now head back to Indianapolis with a 3-2 lead and hope to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy when the two meet for Game 6 on Thursday night.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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