OKC Thunder's Jalen Williams Discloses Unique Scheduling Approach

Oklahoma City Thunder guard-forward Jalen Williams did not enjoy a typical mid-February break, earning the first All-Star selection of his career. He started for Kenny's Young Stars and recorded two points, an assist, a steal and a block in a 41-32 loss against teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chuck's Global Stars.

"I wish the game could have lasted a little longer, but other than that, I had a lot of fun," Williams said. "Even playing in the game was a surreal experience. I really enjoyed the weekend, I know my family did."

Seven regular season weeks remain, meaning the season has shifted to games of consequence. Still, Williams revealed Thursday that he does not know his next opponent until the preparatory film session. He will take the court tonight at 8:30 p.m. CST for an inaugural matchup against his brother Cody, who was drafted No. 10 overall last June.

"I just found out we were playing a day and a half ago," Williams said. "It's good that he's healthy. My family's gonna have another really cool moment right after All-Star."

Williams said he asks people not to send him the NBA schedule when it releases at the end of August. He just wants to know when the season opener is — the Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 102-87 on Oct. 24, 2024.

"I feel like if you look ahead with 45, 50, 82 games left, it just makes the season feel like it's super long," Williams said. "I try to just focus on whatever the day brings. ... It helps me focus on what I'm doing as a player."

THUNDER HEALTH BUILDING CHEMISTRY

Guards Nikola Topic — out for the season with a partially torn ACL — and Ajay Mitchell are the only two players on Oklahoma City's current injury report. That means the Thunder is the healthiest it has been all season. Williams said taking advantage of available players will take time.

"I don't want to say it's restarting team chemistry, but it is starting from the ground up," Williams said. "Just trying to get everybody involved and figure out what works and what doesn't."

Williams referenced two players in that regard: Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, who have each excelled as Oklahoma City's center. One unfamiliar experience for them is playing in the same lineup — they have logged 44 low-leverage excluded minutes together, all in the last three weeks, recording a +23.9 net rating.

"When you put two 7-footers on the floor, you just have to figure out where they're comfortable at, where I'll be comfortable at, and make their lives easy," Williams said. "They're super talented and smart, so it's not an issue. ... They're not always going to be in the game together, so some of that is trying to figure out how to blend different situations."

LACK OF CLUTCH GAMES

The Thunder has played 48 clutch minutes, the second-fewest in the NBA, and finished 9-7 with a +8.0 net rating in clutch time. Only the Washington Wizards have tallied fewer clutch minutes (46) due to being at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Oklahoma City has also recorded single-digit very-high-leverage possessions — six on offense and three on defense. The Memphis Grizzlies have 25 such possessions, the next closest team.

In other words, the Thunder (+13.0 net rating, No. 1 in NBA) has been up by too many points too often when games conclude to feel much in-game adversity. Williams said he prefers it that way.

"My legs are saying it's not a bad thing at all when you can steal those rests," Williams said. "Coming down the home stretch, there's going to be a lot of close games. People are going to come back more rejuvenated from the break, people are going to fix things. The trade deadline just happened — people are going to have more time to gel."

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