Jalen Williams' Starting Resume Gaining Steam as Season Progresses
Oklahoma City needed to fill a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-sized hole in their lineup on Wednesday against San Antonio. It’s not an easy hole to fill when the injured player is the team’s leading scorer and the fifth ranked scorer in the NBA. But Jalen Williams held his own.
With SGA out due to a hip contusion, Williams stepped into the starting lineup for the seventh time in 18 career games.
And his Gilgeous-Alexander imitation was spot on. Williams scored a career-high 27 points and notched six rebounds in the Thunder’s 119-111 comeback win over the Spurs.
It was Williams' first time to score over 20 points in his young NBA career. The recent lottery pick has now scored double-digit points in seven of the last 10 games.
Williams has shown to be one of OKC’s most consistent shooters when on the court. Including an 11-for-15 mark on Wednesday he's shooting 52% on 8.2 shots per game.
Currently Williams role has him as one of the key players off of the bench for the Thunder, which has earned him 25.1 minutes per game thus far.
Williams has proven his ability to be a functional key piece to OKC’s success, which has earned him more minutes off of the bench. However, the role of a bench player could only grow so high, which could lead him into the conversation as one of OKC’s starters sooner rather than later in his career.
The biggest hurdle for a starting role for the 12th overall pick is who is in front of him and the available openings.
When there’s an injury in the starting lineup with Josh Giddey, Lu Dort or SGA, Williams will be able to step in. However, when those three are healthy one will have to be on the bench most likely for Williams to earn the nod.
Williams is 6-foot-6 making him likely too small to step into the four spot of the lineup. OKC could shift Dort and play with four guards in an already small lineup, but that is unlikely.
Dort has stepped up his play since a slow start to the season, and Giddey’s passing ability speaks for itself making it hard to justify sitting either of them in favor of Williams.
His time is coming, but for the immediate time being Williams will serve as the primary sub for the starting lineup and serve a vital role off of the bench on a healthy OKC squad.
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