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Oct 21, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti shakes hands with guard Jalen Williams during the championship ring ceremony before a game against the Houston Rockets at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

What Jalen Williams Will Add to OKC Thunder

Originally posted on Oklahoma City Thunder on SI
By Rylan Stiles | Last updated Nov 28, 2025 4:20 PM ET

After their 18-1 start, the Oklahoma City Thunder are set to get even better. The Bricktown Ballers see the return of their All-NBA swingman, Jalen Williams, who missed the first 19 games of the season as he recovered from offseason wrist surgery to repair torn ligaments that he suffered on April 9 against the Phoenix Suns in the last regular season game of his season. The Santa Clara product went on to play the entire postseason, helping to lead the Thunder to their first title, despite the injury.

Now, Williams returns against these same Phoenix Suns on Friday, in a battle for Western Conference Group A with the winner clinching the group and a spot in the knockout stage. Each team is unbeaten in Pool Play with the Suns coming in at 12-7 overall this season.

A year ago, the Top 20 player averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 48% shooting from the floor, 36% from beyond the arc and 78% at the charity stripe in 69 games.

After missing the first 19 games, Williams is ineligible for NBA awards which directly impacts his contract, however he adds a jolt to this team that is already dominating the league.

DOUG HOKE/THEOKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What Jalen Williams adds to the Oklahoma City Thunder

The OKC Thunder are off to a historic start defensively, with a 102.9 defensive rating lapping the field on that end of the floor with the next best defensive rating being 110.2 from the Miami Heat. The Thunder have a larger gap between them and second play than the Heat do of falling outside of the top 20 in defensive rating. Williams is an All-Defensive swingman with the true capabilities of getting stops against every position on the floor. He will help the Thunder keep this stranglehold at the top of the NBA.

While Oklahoma City is still posting the fourth best offensive rating, Williams' impact will be felt on that end of the floor. No one outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can create his own shot to the level of the Santa Clara product. He gets buckets at all three levels and in the playoffs showed a more determined force barreling to the rim and increased in fouls drawn. He should fill it up as a scorer and his gravity should allow his playmaking to pop and set up others in a great position to score.

He also offers up unique lineup optionality for bench boss Mark Daigneault. Williams can be the primary ball handler in any lineup, he can thrive next to a table setter, he can fit in as a guard, a forward and a small-ball big man something Daigneault is partial too but hasn't gotten to deploy yet. Watch for Oklahoma City to also shuffle Chet Holmgren into the center spot a big more now that Williams is back in the fold and can handle defending power forwards.

Williams should see that playmaking shine even more due to how improved Hartenstein and Holmgren are as rollers at the rim each showing more aggression at the rim this season with Holmgren cutting more now at the rim than ever before in his career. Keeping those two available for dump off passes should really help the Santa Clara product as he attacks in the mid-range and at the cup.

This isn't even to mention how improved the Santa Clara product will be now in year four of his NBA career and the lessons he picked up in last year's playoffs where he turned into a different player that was oozing confidence.

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

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