OKC Thunder Star Taking Noticeably Less Triples This Season

With Oklahoma City’s young core that’s improving in many ways every single season, roles can begin to fluctuate. Certain improvements from certain players require adaptation from the rest of the roster — and generally that’s a good thing.

Chet Holmgren has taken a huge leap forward this season, so the roster has picked up on his play style. The same goes for Ajay Mitchell, who is having a career year across the board. Roles and play styles can change from year-to-year on a team and a roster like this.

In turn, those same play styles can be effected negatively by outside circumstances — like an injury, for instance. And that’s what’s taking place with Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams, who is being forced to adapt a new style of play because of a wrist injury that required offseason surgery. Williams is still producing at a high level and putting up necessary numbers for the best team in the NBA, but he’s doing it in an entirely different way. His scoring prowess looks much different than it did a season ago.

The All-Star is still impacting the game at a high level since his return from a wrist procedure, but he’s really slowed down his outside shot attempts. The first few weeks he was back in the lineup it was noticeable, but now the number is near zero.

In Oklahoma City’s huge home win over San Antonio, Williams had a terrific output. In 30 minutes, he poured in 20 points on 60% from the floor. The craziest part, though, is that he was 0-for-0 from 3-point range. Over the last three games, he has attempted just four total triples. And at this point, it’s good awareness by Williams to realize he can score and attack in other ways on the floor, because he’s shooting just 28.1% from 3-point range this season.

After entering the league with back-to-back ultra efficient seasons from long range, Oklahoma City clearly placed an emphasis on increased volume. Last season, when he averaged 21.6 points per game, Williams took 4.9 triples per night, shooting at a 36.5% clip. In the playoffs, after he suffered the wrist injury but decided to play through it, he attempted 5.0 triples per game and shot 30.4%. This season, he has clearly seen the results and tried to make a change until his wrist feels comfortable again. He’s taking a career-low 2.6 3-point attempts per game.

It’s a positive development for Williams to recognize where his wrist is still recovering, and continue to make a huge impact on this team. His 17.7 points per game is still good for third on the roster, and he’s doing it almost entirely without an outside shot.

As the season progresses and the postseason hits, Williams will hopefully feel more comfortable shooting from long range again. Oklahoma City is at its best when he’s a confident shooter and spacing the floor. For now, though, what he’s doing is working — and you can bet that 3-point shot is being workshopped behind closed doors for the bigger stage this spring.