Jalen Williams Helps Orchestrate An OKC Thunder Game 1 Win

The Thunder guard seems to be fully past injuries, playing Sunday afternoon in prime form.

Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) celebrates after scoring against the Phoenix Suns in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Thunder star has started the playoffs with a bang. 

Oklahoma City has started the postseason on a positive note, taking down the Phoenix Suns 119-84 in Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series. OKC did a lot of things right, as they led by as much as 39 at one point. One of the biggest highlights from this bout was one Thunder guard seeming to return to the peak of his play. 

Jalen Williams had an afternoon for Oklahoma City as he did a little bit of everything. He was the second leading scorer for the Thunder squad, putting up 22 points on an incredible 60% shooting. Williams even shot 40% from beyond the arc, performing way better than his percentage this regular season of 29.9%.

It wasn’t just scoring for Williams as he seemed to be orchestrating the game from the beginning, with six assists on the night. The guard also had a night on the glass, grabbing the second-most rebounds for OKC with seven. 

Williams was doing his job on the defensive end as always, adding one steal and one block to his resume to end the first game of the series. This was exactly the type of performance that the Thunder were looking for Williams to put on, as he was a crucial part of their playoff run last year as well. 

Williams averaged over 21 points in the playoffs last year for the Thunder, and seemed to always take over the game whenever the Thunder fell stagnant. There was speculation whether the Thunder star would be able to reach this form once again after the injuries he has dealt with this season. 

After missing most of the season with wrist and hamstring injuries, Williams only appeared in 33 games and, in turn, had most of his stats slip. However, on Sunday afternoon, Williams was on a mission to prove that he still has the all-star in him. 

Oklahoma City will need him to continue this play as both the series and the playoffs continue, and will continue to lean on the guard as he continues to prove his worth.  

Phoenix will continue to key in on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the series goes on, and ultimately will keep leaving Williams in positions to score and make plays down the stretch. OKC has taken the necessary first steps in the series with a Game 1 win and has the potential to win it in four games with Williams continuing this play.