OKC Thunder Forward Kenrich Williams is Proving His Worth

In November of 2020, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Steven Adams to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for three draft picks and a medley of basketball players.

One of those players was Kenrich Williams.

At the time, the 6-foot-6 guard/forward wasn’t seen as a major get. In fact, not many fans outside of New Orleans knew much about him. Williams was seen as just a throw-in player in a move that would help the Thunder ignite their rebuild.

In his first two seasons with the Thunder, Williams averaged just 7.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, but on 50.1% shooting from the field and 39.1% shooting from beyond the arc, and a respectable 1.9 steal percentage and 1.0 block percentage.

But the numbers don’t necessarily paint the whole picture. His energy and effort off the bench stood out amongst other veterans looking to carve out a role in the Thunder’s long-term plans.

Fast forward to this past off-season.

After professing his love for Oklahoma City, General Manager Sam Presti extended the former Pelican to a four-year, $27.2 million dollar contract. Barring a trade, the deal keeps Williams in a Thunder jersey through 2025-26, and has a built-in club-option for the 2026-2027 season.

The new contract will be in effect with the start of the 2023-24 season.

ESPN Sources: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams has agreed on a four-year, $27.2 million contract extension. The deal, negotiated by @PensackSports, comes for an undrafted player who had no Division I offers out of high school.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2022

Now, the player affectionately known as “Kenny Hustle,” a nickname earned while at TCU due to his commitment to the defensive side of the ball and his remarkable work ethic, is making the most of his opportunity in Oklahoma City.

After inking his new deal, Williams is averaging just 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in just 22.1 minutes per game through his 40 contests. But he’s doing more with less. His 41.2% 3-point shooting and 52.5% shooting from the floor is out-performing his first two seasons with the Thunder, combined. And his usage percentage of 12.9 is the lowest it’s ever been while in Oklahoma City.

His rebounding is as good as it’s ever been, too. His total rebound percentage of 11.8 is the second best mark of his career. That can be attributed to his focus on crashing the offensive glass this season. His offensive rebound percentage of 8.8 is smashing his previous career-high of 7.1%.

Williams’ passing has been remarkably good as well, as he’s recorded 76 assists to just 18 turnovers. That’s a 4.22 assist-to-turnover ratio, good for 16th-best in the entire league and eight-best out of players who have played in at least 30 games.

Nice dime from Kenrich Williams to Isaiah Joe pic.twitter.com/CS28vVw43i
— buddhaball🏀 🍉🇺🇦☸️ (@SiddharthNBA) January 21, 2023

And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, Williams is also leading the league in charges drawn with a total of 20. And it isn’t just because of more playing time than others. He’s also leading the league in charges drawn per 36 minutes.

But maybe the best statistic to capture just how impactful Williams has been for the Thunder is the fact that when he plays 24 or more minutes, the Thunder are 11-4 this season.

His production has really started to ramp up recently, too.

Averaging 23.7 minutes in his last 20 games, Williams is averaging 9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while knocking down 54% of his shots from the floor, including 45.2% of his 3.1 3-point attempts, equating to a blistering 63.5 true-shooting percentage. His rebound percentage of 11.9% matches his previous career-high and his assist-to-turnover percentage is up to 4.9, highlighting just how good his decision-making and passing ability has been lately.

And when he’s been on the floor, Oklahoma City is boasting a net rating of 8.7, topping the team’s net rating of 8.5 in the month of January, which represents the Thunder’s best stretch of basketball this season.

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