Despite the Loss, OKC Thunder’s Jalen Williams Says ‘It’s Good to Have That Feeling Early’

Oklahoma City plans to learn from its playoff loss so that it can be beneficial down the road.

May 11, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) celebrates with / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Even though Oklahoma City exceeded expectations in a big way this season, the loss in the Western Conference Semifinals still stung. The Thunder had chances in multiple games and struggled to shoot the ball. 

The Thunder were never expected to win a championship this season, but tying the Mavericks at 2-2 made it feel like there was a chance to advance further. Dallas, of course, took the next two games and sent the Thunder home packing. It wasn’t a disappointing season by any means, but the way it ended was disappointing.

In the moment it kind of sucks,” Jalen Williams said in his exit interview. “Everybody probably feels like we left a lot on the table, and I think that's a really good thing. My first year, we had like a really average year and kind of got bounced out before even kind of getting into the playoffs.

“So to have the year we had now and be disappointed is kind of a really good thing that we did. It's something we're going to build on and brought us really closer together. You can't get better with these experiences without having them, so it's definitely a good thing we were able to kind of go through this together as a group.”

It’s certainly not a good feeling to lose in the postseason, and being so close made it that much worse. But it might be a good thing for Oklahoma City to feel the pain of defeat early. The Thunder gained valuable playoff experience, going through the high’s and the low’s, in wins and in losses. 

All season long, people knocked the Thunder for lack of playoff experience and being too young. With two hard fought matchups back-to-back, the youthful squad picked up invaluable experience and a handful of big time moments. It’s no question that Oklahoma City has the talent to be back in that spot sooner rather than later. It’s good for this team to experience a disappointing exit early on so that it can only fuel them moving forward.

“It's a feeling I'm going to carry throughout the summer and carry with me the rest of my career, being the first time that I'm in the playoffs,” Williams said. “Just use it as a chip on my shoulder and kind of press through that way. It's something that's going to motivate the rest of the guys and myself.

“It's good we're having that feeling early, something we can always remember and try to be better for.”

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