Stiles Points: Jalen Williams Most Continue Trend in Round 2

It would be hard to dream of a better start to the NBA Playoffs than the one Jalen Williams is off to.

The first time All-Star looked every bit the part of a co-star for the Oklahoma City Thunder during its First Round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies.

In four games, the Santa Clara averaged 23 points, five rebounds, five assists and two stocks per game while shooting 54% from the floor, 28% from beyond the arc and 60% from the free throw line.

After a disappointing offensive series against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round a year ago, seeing the Thunder ousted in six games before the Mavericks marched to the NBA Finals, there were plenty of questions surrounding Williams in this setting.

So far, he has past the postseason test with flying colors. Williams was in command of the Thunder's offense, generating good shots for his teammates, being uber aggressive downhill, creating shots in the mid-range off the bounce and extending leads with the secondary unit which is a direct contrast from a year ago.

It was the Non Shai Gilgeous-Alexander minutes in Games 1 and 2 that blew those games wide-open in the second and fourth quarters respectively. That is the forumla for Oklahoma City's accomplishing its lofty goals this season of winning its first championship.

Even in this Round 1 series from Williams, the most encouraging aspect is how impactful he was while leaving meat on the bone.

In the four games against Memphis, the 24-year-old generated 3.8 free throws per game with a 10 free throw attempt game in Game 3. That signals his aggression level but also the fact he only converted at a 60% clip –– down from his 78% mark in the regular season –– signals Williams can up his scoring even more.

On that same note, Williams is a career 38% 3-point shooter and in this series –– despite his success –– he dipped to 28% from distance. Most of those attempts were his bread and butter, open catch-and-shoot looks. The math suggests those shots will fall at a better clip moving forward.

This is nothing new for the Thunder swingman, who on top of putting together an All-Star season during the 2024-25 campaign, closed the year strong. In his final eight regular season games, Williams posted 24 points, four rebounds, four assists and 1.6 stocks on 52/39/77 shooting splits.

If Williams can bottle up his first-round series –– much less build on it –– He will have not only done his job, but answered questions this postseason. The Santa Clara product would also be an anomaly of a third-year player in his second-ever playoffs to be this impactful.

A lot rides on Williams repeating this performance against whoever is on deck for Oklahoma City –– The Denver Nuggets or LA Clippers –– and there is great reason to believe he will deliever.

Song of the Day: Act Naturally by Buck Owens