Thunder Rookie Jalen Williams Makes Draft Digest Rookie Ladder

Oklahoma City rookie Jalen Williams, despite limited and sporadic playing time, is already making waves in the NBA.

The twelfth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Williams was thought of as an immediate impact player coming for OKC. And by all accounts he has been in limited playing time.

In seven games, Williams is averaging 7.4 points on 52.4 percent shooting, all while playing around 20 minutes per game.

The Santa Clara product has been far from the focal point on offense, despite being able to function as a primary or secondary playmaker. So far, he’s had to use his savvy off-ball movement and transition skills to generate offense.

On top of his scoring, the rookie is averaging 2.3 rebounds, dishing out 1.6 assists and nabbing 1.1 steals per game.

Even more than that, Williams has been a stout defender, even taking on some four responsibilities in rare occurrences. He's been adept at using his length, mainly his wingspan, to his advantage.

Williams accolades, and especially his stronger performances of late, earned him a spot on Draft Digest’s rookie ladder, which is a running list of the top ten rookies of the 2022-23 season.

Williams made his debut at No. 8, but is sure to climb the ranks by shouldering more and more of the offensive load in the coming months.

Oklahoma City is back in action on Friday with a contest against the Raptors at home.

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