<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-jalen-williams-nba-fame');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Jalen Williams drops eye-opening admission on drawbacks of NBA fame');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Thumbs-11-4-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Jalen Williams drops eye-opening admission on drawbacks of NBA fame</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-09-25T10:31:43-07:00">September 25th, 10:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-09-25T10:37:20-07:00">September 25th, 10:37am</time><address><a href="https://joeymistretta.wordpress.com">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a sports writer/editor who covers multiple sports. Notably, Mistretta covers baseball, basketball, and football, with an emphasis on MLB as a Lead Editor. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder is a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-jalen-williams-truth-bomb-will-excite-okc-fans" rel="noopener">rising star</a> in the NBA. He’s seen his popularity increase as a result. Although fame and fortune has some positives, Williams understands that the <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1706349140081250311" rel="noopener">popularity comes with drawbacks</a>.</p><p>“Me personally, no,” Jalen Williams <a href="https://www.instagram.com/donttripwegotu/" rel="noopener">responded</a> on the <i>Don’t Trip</i> podcast when asked if he’s dealt with any “crazy scenarios with woman or anything”, via ClutchPoints. “I try to stay out of the mix as far as like girls during the season. I’ve seen some stuff… I know girls be like, hanging out in the hallways and hotel rooms all the time… they like know you’re schedule and stuff. You always get the random DMs like, ‘fly me out.’</p><p>“That’s the trap that I think a lot of, especially like young guys fall into. Now it’s like you got girls, 2 am, 3 am, you’re already tried, you’re vulnerable… they’ll wait for you to have a good game. Then they’ll be at your hotel room.”</p><p>Jalen Williams is clearly intent on limiting distractions. He has a very bright future in the NBA and wants to focus on basketball.</p><p>Williams is fresh off a rookie season that saw him average 14.1 points per game on 52.1 percent field goal and 35.6 percent three-point shooting. He added 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per contest.</p><p>The Thunder feature an all-around quality core of players. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the superstar, while Josh Giddey has been reliable. Chet Holmgren is preparing for his rookie season after missing the entire 2022-23 season with an injury.</p><p>Jalen Williams and the Thunder will try to continue limiting distractions during the 2023-24 campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Jalen Williams drops eye-opening admission on drawbacks of NBA fame

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-jalen-williams-truth-bomb-will-excite-okc-fans');   ga('set', 'title', 'Chet Holmgren’s Jalen Williams truth bomb will excite Thunder fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Chet-Holmgren-Thunder-draft-rookie-Jalen-Williams.jpg"></figure><h1>Chet Holmgren’s Jalen Williams truth bomb will excite Thunder fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-08-02T09:49:22-07:00">August 2nd, 9:49am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-08-02T09:49:22-07:00">August 2nd, 9:49am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime -- so he writes about it instead as a form of therapy. (It hasn't worked though. Someday maybe it will -- especially when he's been working for ClutchPoints since August 2022.)</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder front office has assembled one of the best young cores in the entire NBA. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey, the Thunder have some of the brightest young stars in the league. But it’s the “in-between” moves that rebuilding teams have to nail so they could build a sustainable contending outfit, and the Thunder front office has done just that, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-fans-confused-okc-drafts-2-guys-almost-exact-same-name" rel="noopener">drafting another future star</a> in Jalen Williams with the 12th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft.</p><p>Williams rose late in the draft process in 2022, wowing scouts and talent evaluators with his performance in the draft combine. But according to Williams’ fellow 2022 draftee Chet Holmgren, the 22-year old wing looked like he was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shaq-will-be-proud-of-jalen-williams-historic-rookie-tear" rel="noopener">destined for greatness</a> even back during his days at Santa Clara.</p><p>Speaking with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on SHOWTIME Basketball’s All the Smoke podcast, Holmgren <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1686762389021044736" rel="noopener">revealed</a> when he knew Thunder teammate Jalen Williams was going to become a monster.</p><p>“He’s a hooper. I knew he was really good before all the NBA stuff. We played against him in conference play in college. We smacked his team by like 30. But he had 20 each game. So like I knew he could hoop. Not trying to take too many shots at Santa Clara but we’re kind of on top of the WCC,” Holmgren said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“I knew [Jalen Williams] was really good before the NBA. We played against him in college. We smacked [Santa Clara] by like 30, but he had 20 each game, so I knew he could hoop."</p><p>Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams go way back 😅</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/shobasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@shobasketball</a>)<a href="https://t.co/kkO0UNnAoJ">pic.twitter.com/kkO0UNnAoJ</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1686762389021044736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Jalen Williams <a href="https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/jalen-williams-13.html" rel="noopener">was a junior</a> at Santa Clara in his final year at college, and he exploded in Year 3, averaging 18.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists for the Broncos. He also shot the ball efficiently during the 2021-22 season, making 51.3 percent of his shots from the field and 39.6 percent from deep.</p><p>Alas, he didn’t have the best track record of success, so when the Thunder took him in the lottery, it didn’t exactly draw universal praise. But Williams quickly turned those sentiments round, as it didn’t take long for him to cement himself in the OKC rotation for good.</p><p>In 2023, it’ll now be up to Chet Holmgren to become the next Thunder rookie to impress and cement himself as a long-term keeper. But given the Thunder front office’s penchant for drafting well, it’ll be more of a surprise if Holmgren fails to match expectations.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Chet Holmgren’s Jalen Williams truth bomb will excite Thunder fans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-disrespectful-jalen-williams-interview-by-espn-reporter-has-fans-on-verge-of-meltdown-on-twitter');   ga('set', 'title', '‘Disrespectful’ Jalen Williams interview by ESPN reporter has Thunder fans on verge of Twitter meltdown');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Thunder-Jaylin-Williams-Jalen-Williams-Holly-Rowe-2023-NBA-Summer-League.jpg"></figure><h1>‘Disrespectful’ Jalen Williams interview by ESPN reporter has Thunder fans on verge of Twitter meltdown</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-04T23:06:47-07:00">July 4th, 11:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-04T23:06:47-07:00">July 4th, 11:06pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime -- so he writes about it instead as a form of therapy. (It hasn't worked though. Someday maybe it will.)</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder’s selection of Jalen and Jaylin Williams during the 2022 NBA Draft <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-fans-confused-okc-drafts-2-guys-almost-exact-same-name" rel="noopener">spawned a lot of confusion</a> for fans at first. But as time passed by, the two slowly but surely made their marks as the Thunder surpassed expectations during the 2022-23 season. J-Dub emerged as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shaq-will-be-proud-of-jalen-williams-historic-rookie-tear" rel="noopener">one of the best rookies</a> of his draft class, while Jaylin ended up being OKC’s starting center to end the year, proving his worth as a floor-spacing big.</p><p>While there’s no debating the fact that Jalen was a more impactful player for the Thunder in year one, Jaylin, the former Arkansas Razorback, also has staked his claim to remain with the team for as long as possible as they try to develop into one of the best young teams in the NBA. But clearly, some members of the media still missed the memo.</p><p>Following the Thunder’s convincing Summer League win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night, Holly Rowe, the ESPN sideline reporter for the game, <a href="https://twitter.com/JacobScottDavis/status/1676351243424342016" rel="noopener">disrespected</a> Jaylin Williams by referring to his teammate Jalen as “the real Jalen Williams”, compounding matters by telling the 6’10 big man that she meant “no offense” with what she said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Disrespectful to Jaylin Williams.  <a href="https://t.co/L9ouxwVk7X">pic.twitter.com/L9ouxwVk7X</a></p><p>— Jacob Davis (@JacobScottDavis) <a href="https://twitter.com/JacobScottDavis/status/1676351243424342016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>In the immediate aftermath of what Rowe said, Tre Mann looked intently at Jaylin Williams, who took the disrespect in stride. The 21-year old center, whose arm was wrapped around the shoulders of the returning Chet Holmgren, just laughed it off, which is a testament to his upstanding attitude.</p><p>While the big man had a good attitude towards this entire scenario, fans on Twitter did not take too kindly to the disrespect Holly Rowe showed the young Thunder center. Some Twitter users <a href="https://twitter.com/Real42T/status/1676361940287848449?s=20" rel="noopener">chastised</a> Rowe, wondering why she had to make such a remark that surely would not have been received well.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Do better <a href="https://twitter.com/sportsiren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sportsiren</a></p><p>— T3e (@Real42T) <a href="https://twitter.com/Real42T/status/1676361940287848449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">And somehow she escaped the <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPN</a> layoffs. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DoBetter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DoBetter</a></p><p>— BP (@HawgsNCards) <a href="https://twitter.com/HawgsNCards/status/1676444254548156418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>However, most Thunder fans took this slight as an opportunity to praise Jaylin Williams instead. They expressed gratitude and love for the young big man, with one user even calling him the <a href="https://twitter.com/meow4marjorie/status/1676089822572691457?s=20" rel="noopener">“nicest” and “most humble”</a> human being.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Hey Holly Rowe. I have always been a fan. However, what you said tonight to JayWill/JWill/Jaylin Williams was straight up rude. He is the nicest, most humble human being around. Please do better.</p><p>— 🐗 Go HOGS Go 🐗 (@meow4marjorie) <a href="https://twitter.com/meow4marjorie/status/1676089822572691457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bro he’s the nicest most humble person out there. Don’t understand it.</p><p>— Chet Cooper (@chetcooper1260) <a href="https://twitter.com/chetcooper1260/status/1676358689798737924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">She must not know there’s a whole state behind  my guy🤨😂</p><p>— qwan porchia (@L_Porchia) <a href="https://twitter.com/L_Porchia/status/1676444215608221698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Well damn Holly, I really love ya, but Jaylin is just to amazing</p><p>— One Day at a Time (@Trixiestreats86) <a href="https://twitter.com/Trixiestreats86/status/1676364603213725696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The best response to disrespect is by letting one’s game do the talking. And given how hard Jaylin Williams works, expect him to continue improving rapidly, helping usher in the next contending era for the Thunder.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘Disrespectful’ Jalen Williams interview by ESPN reporter has Thunder fans on verge of Twitter meltdown

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-jalen-williams-speaks-on-rookie-season-nba-finals-kobe-bryant');   ga('set', 'title', 'EXCLUSIVE: Jalen Williams speaks on rookie season, NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Jalen-Williams-Nikola-Jokic-Jimmy-Butler-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Kobe-Bryant-Los-Angeles-Lakers-Oklahoma-City-Thunder-Miami-Heat-Denver-Nuggets-2023-NBA-Finals.jpeg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>EXCLUSIVE: Jalen Williams speaks on rookie season, NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-06-12T11:37:44-07:00">June 12th, 11:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-06-12T11:40:31-07:00">June 12th, 11:40am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his seventh season as the LA Clippers beat writer for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers.In his off time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter for all Clippers content below:</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>MIAMI, FL – Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams is at 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, and he hopes to be the one suiting up to play at some point in his career.</p><p>The NBA announced that the 2023 Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat would be spiced up with some players in attendance acting as media members. With at least four games in the series, the league invited the top rookies from the 2022 NBA Draft class to participate in NBA Finals Media Day as NBA Finals Media Correspondents, as well as to take in the game a day later.</p><p>Among the participants in the events were Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin, Utah Jazz rookie Walker Kessler, Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-x-factor-2023-nba-play-in-tournament-vs-pelicans-not-jalen-williams" rel="noopener">Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Jalen Williams</a>.</p><p>The four players took time to take part in all parts of NBA Finals Media Day, including the press conference room questions, the on-court sessions, and even some friendly one-on-one.</p><p>Williams’ rookie season got off to a rocky start, suffering a fractured orbital bone less than six minutes into his NBA debut with the Thunder. From January 2023 to the end of the regular season, Williams averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent from three. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Magic star Paolo Banchero.</p><p>Jalen Williams spoke with me, <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly" rel="noopener">Tomer Azarly</a> of ClutchPoints, about joining the championship round as an NBA Finals Correspondent, being a part of the atmosphere, his rookie season with the OKC Thunder, and more.</p><p><b>Tomer Azarly: We Got Jalen Williams, OKC guard? Forward?</b></p><p>Jalen Williams: Wherever they put me at haha.</p><p><b>TA: Basketball player! Well you’re in the NBA Finals. How did this all start for you?</b></p><p>JW: Well I got a text and they were asking me basically what are you doing with your offseason and if you would like to come out here and kind of go through his whole process. It was kind of a no brainer. It’s really cool to kinda be here in this atmosphere.</p><p>You get to see a lot of like the moving parts that are going on. I think a lot of people behind the scenes that you wouldn’t necessarily see, so I’m getting to meet a lot of people and going through his whole process for the first time. I think every NBA player wants to be here in this moment and I think this is like a cool start to backtrack to do something to look forward to and kind of push towards so pretty obvious that I wanted to be here and it’s been exciting so far.</p><p><b>TA:  You’ve been the guy who gets questions asked. Now you’re doing the asking questions. Which one do you prefer?</b></p><p>JW: I think it’s pretty even. I feel like being an NBA player, it’s easy to kind of figure out questions to ask and I know stuff that I don’t like to be asked and then obviously, vice versa, I was in little media scrums so everybody’s raising their hand trying to figure that out, so that was probably the hardest part. But it’s really cool. It definitely has pros and cons. Obviously you probably get some crazy questions that you get asked being a player and obviously vice versa, so I think it’s been a little easier being able to do the interviews.</p><p><b>TA: What’s a question you don’t like being asked?</b></p><p>JW: I’m not gonna share too much, because I guarantee I’ll be asked it, but I feel like a lot of questions might get a little repetitive in the sense of that nature. I feel like that’s kind of the hardest part of answering. You’re full of stability even though you kind of get asked them a lot.</p><p><b>TA: Now that you’ve had a couple months to soak in your rookie season with the Thunder, what was your takeaway from it?</b></p><p>JW: It was really, really hectic. Playing with the injury to kind of start the year, in my NBA career was kind of crazy, but It was really fun. A lot of ups and downs. A lot more ups for sure. I feel like I kind of got into a rhythm, especially in the second half of the season, I was able to kind of get my mask off and kind of just play. Credit to the team, the coaching staff. I was in a pretty good position to kind of just learn from my mistakes and play through them. Yeah it was fun to grow on for sure.</p><p><b>TA:  What’s your favorite city to play in?</b></p><p>JW: I think for me, Staples. Growing up a Kobe Bryant fan, that was my first time in the arena, so I think that was pretty cool and probably Madison Square Garden. I think playing against the Knicks and kind of that whole atmosphere is something that can’t really be replicated.</p><p><b>TA: So you were there for LeBron’s record breaking game as well. Was that kind of a magical night?</b></p><p>JW: Yeah, it was a very crazy and hectic night. I saw celebrities that I don’t think I ever would have saw. That was pretty cool. And then obviously, we won the game, so I think that kind of is a big win for us and you know, I got to also see LeBron beat the record. It’s something that probably won’t ever get touched, so it was definitely a lot of emotions going on. It was a pretty dope experience.</p><p><b>TA: What’s next for Jalen Williams to improve?</b></p><p>JW: I think just kind of understanding the game a little more. And kind of just building off what I did last year. I think when you have basketball knowledge, that takes you a lot longer than trying to get more athletic or trying to get faster and stuff like that. So just kind of understanding why I’m doing stuff at the core and kind of going through X’s and O’s.</p><p><b>TA: 1 on 1 with you and the newest member of the first team all NBA, your Thunder teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Who wins?</b></p><p>JW: I’m gonna say me every time. I’ll see him during the summer, so we’ll play. I’m definitely gonna say myself.</p><p><b>TA: Who wins most of those? Is it even? Be honest.</b></p><p>JW: We really… We really don’t play because during the season, it’s difficult. Yeah, so we’ll have to see. I’ll probably have a better answer for you by the end of the summer for sure.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

EXCLUSIVE: Jalen Williams speaks on rookie season, NBA Finals, Kobe Bryant

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-x-factor-2023-nba-play-in-tournament-vs-pelicans-not-jalen-williams');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s X-factor in 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament vs. Pelicans, and it’s not Jalen Williams');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Thunder-Pelicans-play-in-2023-NBA-play-in-tournament-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-Josh-Giddey-Jalen-Williams.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s X-factor in 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament vs. Pelicans, and it’s not Jalen Williams</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-04-11T09:18:46-07:00">April 11th, 9:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-04-11T09:18:46-07:00">April 11th, 9:18am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Not many expected the Oklahoma City Thunder to challenge for a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2023-nba-play-in-tournament-bracket-when-where-watch-lakers-timberwolves-heat-hawks-bulls-raptors-pelicans-thunder" rel="noopener">2023 NBA Play-In tournament spot</a> to begin the year. Those doubters were certainly justified in their low expectations for the Thunder, especially when they were coming off a 24-win campaign and their reward for their putridity, Chet Holmgren, injured his foot before the season began.</p><p>Fast forward to April though, and the Thunder have managed to surpass even the most optimistic expectations, finishing with 40 wins and a chance to nab the eighth seed in the Western Conference. This opportunity seems very poetic, as the last true contending iteration of the Thunder (the Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and James Harden core) began to climb the NBA ranks as the eighth seed, challenging the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers to a competitive six-game series in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.</p><p>While it’s difficult to envision the Thunder’s current core becoming as elite as the aforementioned one, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s greatness notwithstanding, squeaking into the playoffs will do wonders for a franchise that many expected to remain at the bottom for years to come after trading away Paul George and Westbrook in 2019.</p><p>Nevertheless, the New Orleans Pelicans will be a tough matchup, especially with how well Brandon Ingram has played as of late. Ingram <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-news-cj-mccollum-honest-take-on-brandon-ingram-hot-streak-will-hype-new-orleans-fans" rel="noopener">will be a nightmare to defend</a> given his three-level scoring mastery, but the Thunder should have the personnel to, at the very least, slow down the Pelicans forward who has been breathing fire since February.</p><p>Even then, the Pelicans, on paper, have more talent across the roster, so the Thunder will need all hands on deck to pull off a 9/10 upset so they could live to fight another day.</p><p>Here’s the Thunder’s biggest X-factor for their 2023 NBA Play-In tournament contest on Wednesday — and it’s not Jalen Williams.</p><h2>Thunder’s biggest X-factor vs. Pelicans: Luguentz Dort</h2><p>Jalen Williams has arguably been the Thunder’s biggest X-factor all year long. Drafted as the 12th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, pundits and scouts did not expect a lot of offensive polish coming from the swingman out of Santa Clara. After all, he just made a late rise atop draft boards with an impressive showing at the combine, and in college, he didn’t have the longest track record of efficiency in his three years.</p><p>However, Williams has managed to impress in just about every step of the way, and he now stands as the Thunder’s third-best player. There is even an argument to be made for Williams as his team’s second-best player, depending on how well Josh Giddey is playing. Williams has become such an overwhelming athletic force on both ends, shining on offense with his effortless ability to glide past defenders while letting his tools allow him to crowd his matchup’s space on the defensive end.</p><p>Thus, Williams <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-shaq-will-be-proud-of-jalen-williams-historic-rookie-tear" rel="noopener">has definitely graduated above X-factor status</a>, as the Thunder will count on him to shoulder a heavy two-way load alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey.</p><p>This makes Luguentz Dort the most obvious choice as the singular variable that could decide the outcome in either direction.</p><p>Almost all fans know Dort’s contributions by now. The 6’3 Thunder wing is as intense of an on-ball defender as they come, as he’s able to shuffle his feet easily while shadowing even the best offensive players. Dort takes on the most difficult matchups every night, and he usually makes their lives a living hell. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-okc-fans-hyped-after-lu-dorts-unreal-defense-on-kawhi-leonards-last-second-shot" rel="noopener">Just ask Kawhi Leonard</a> how stifling Dort can be.</p><p>But Dort just hasn’t been able to up his scoring proficiency and efficiency, and he remains one of the toughest players to watch on the offensive end. If Dort’s outside shot isn’t hitting, he barely contributes anything on that end of the floor, as he isn’t particularly the most adept finisher at the rim.</p><p>Dort finished the regular season having shot below the 40 percent mark for the third time in his career (through four seasons). While Dort doesn’t really earn his corn on offense, a bit more efficiency would be nice from someone <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/luguentz-dort-33033/" rel="noopener">making $15.3 million this season</a>.</p><p>At the very least, Dort is sure to make an impact against Brandon Ingram, although that matchup didn’t exactly work in the Pelicans’ favor in their February 13 matchup, as the Pelicans star led his team to victory with <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/brandon-ingram-game-log-vs-okc" rel="noopener">an efficient 34-point performance</a>.</p><p>Nonetheless, Dort should have a few open looks during the 2023 NBA Play-In tournament game against the Pelicans, and if he makes them, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company will have even more space to stretch their opponent’s defense beyond its breaking point.</p><p>Dort has popped off in a win or go home contest before, scoring a then-career high 30 points back in 2020. Thus, the Thunder wing certainly has it in him to explode at a crucial juncture, and the OKC brass will be hoping that Dort’s semi-regular scoring outbursts occur in the play-in.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s X-factor in 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament vs. Pelicans, and it’s not Jalen Williams

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/why-paolo-banchero-must-win-2023-rookie-of-the-year-over-jalen-williams-bennedict-mathurin');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Paolo Banchero must win 2023 Rookie of the Year over Jalen Williams, Bennedict Mathurin');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Why-Paolo-Banchero-should-win-Rookie-of-the-Year-over-Jalen-Williams-Bennedict-Mathurin.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Paolo Banchero must win 2023 Rookie of the Year over Jalen Williams, Bennedict Mathurin</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-03-29T22:47:32-07:00">March 29th, 10:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-03-29T22:47:32-07:00">March 29th, 10:47pm</time><address><a>Quenton Albertie</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>NBA fans may be tired of the banality of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-tracy-mcgrady-nikola-jokic-vs-joel-embiid-mvp-take-sparks-epic-twitter-buzz" rel="noopener">Most Valuable Player</a> discussion, and rightfully so.</p><p>However, a much more interesting race is being held between the leagues new blood, as the Rookie of the Year award race is becoming as hotly debated as it was last season.</p><p>In fact, in 2021-22, the ROY debate ended with Toronto Raptors point-forward Scottie Barnes award. However, there was a large chorus of voters, media members, and fans that would have preferred to see one of Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham or Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley win it.</p><p>This season appears to be no different, as no matter who is picked, there will be debate.</p><p>Multiple candidates are making a late surge to at least be named to an All-Rookie team, including Oklahoma City Thunder wing Jalen Williams.</p><p>However, there’s really only one guy that should be winning the 2023 Rookie of the Year award: Orlando Magic forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/magic-news-paolo-bancheros-epic-tanking-message-after-win-over-nets-will-hype-orlando-fans" rel="noopener">Paolo Banchero</a>.</p><h1>Why Paolo Banchero should win 2023 Rookie of the Year over Jalen Williams, Bennedict Mathurin</h1><p>Banchero, selected with the first overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, hit the ground running and didn’t look back.</p><p>Averaging 19.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the season, Banchero averaged 22.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in October. Fresh out of the gate, Banchero displayed advanced shot-making, shot-creation, playmaking abilities. Truly, Banchero looks like someone that’s already been in the league for years, not just someone who will be.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>Furthermore, despite his defense being questioned prior to the draft, his intensity and focus on that end quickly put concerns about his two-way ability to bed.</p><p>The only rookie that had even close to the start of Banchero was Indiana Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin, a confident scorer averaging 16.6 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting from the field.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>The sixth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Mathurin averaged 20.4 points per game in October. He was having little trouble getting into the paint or knocking down shots from outside, as he converted 42.9 percent of his 3-point attempts that month.</p><p>Again, what sets Banchero — and to a slightly lesser extent Mathurin — apart from Williams, is that they’ve playing at a high level since the beginning of the season.</p><p>If not for that, the Santa Clara product would have a much better case to win ROY.</p><p>The 12th overall pick in 2022, Williams averages 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game for the Thunder. Crafty, lithe, and bouncy, Williams has a prototypical guard skillset. This is particularly apparent as of late, as he’s shooting 46.0 percent from 3-point range since the All-Star Break.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>In fact, Williams has averaged 19.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game post-break.</p><p>For comparison, Banchero is averaging 20.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game since the All-Star Break. Hes doing do on 44.7 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.</p><h2>More numbers, more problems…</h2><p>Counting stats aside, there are <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/isolation" rel="noopener">other numbers that help</a> paint a picture of these players.</p><ul><li><i>Banchero is scoring 0.84 points per possession in isolation in 3.2 possessions per game; 1.06 points per possession in transition in 4.1 possessions per game; and 0.97 points per possession on post-ups in 1.6 possessions per game.</i></li><li><i>Williams is scoring 1.03 points per possession in isolation in 0.9 possessions per game and 1.17 points per possession in transition in 2.7 possessions per game.</i></li><li><i>Mathurin is scoring 0.90 points per possession in isolation in 1.4 possessions per game and 1.19 points per possession in transition in 3.9 possessions per game.</i></li></ul><p>In essence, Williams is the most efficient scorer on the list while Banchero is the diverse. Mathurin though not quite as efficient as J-Dub, is pretty reliable himself. On the defensive end, all three players are active, but Williams is the best at generating turnovers.</p><p>So, the counting stats favor Banchero, offensively.</p><p>The counting stats favor Williams, defensively.</p><p>The consistency favors Banchero.</p><p>The advanced stats favor Williams.</p><p>The tape favors Banchero.</p><p>What’s more, the Magic, Pacers, and Thunder have each won at least 30 games.</p><h2>And the winner is…</h2><p>Williams and Mathurin both deserve to be a first-team All-Rookie selections. However, neither of them has played consistently enough to overtake Banchero for Rookie of the Year.</p><p>If Banchero wins, he’ll be the first former Duke player who earns Rookie of the Year honors since Kyrie Irving.</p><p>The Duke Blue Devils have had four Rookie of the Year winners, including former Magic forward Grant Hill.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Paolo Banchero must win 2023 Rookie of the Year over Jalen Williams, Bennedict Mathurin

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-move-over-kevin-durant-jalen-williams-crashes-okc-rookie-party-with-epic-record');   ga('set', 'title', 'Move over, Kevin Durant. Jalen Williams crashes Thunder rookie party with epic record');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Thunder_news_Move_over_Kevin_Durant._Jalen_Williams_crashes_OKC_rookie_party_with_epic_record.jpg"></figure><h1>Move over, Kevin Durant. Jalen Williams crashes Thunder rookie party with epic record</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-03-29T20:18:57-07:00">March 29th, 8:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-03-29T20:19:52-07:00">March 29th, 8:19pm</time><address><a>Angelo Guinhawa</a>Angelo Guinhawa is a basketball and soccer/football editor/writer. He uses his background in digital marketing to make sure you get to read his work. He has previously worked for FOX Sports PH and a number of reputable sports media outlets. If he's not writing or watching sports, he's likely scouring online for his next NBA card purchase.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-okc-fans-going-nuts-after-jalen-williams-stuns-pistons-with-last-second-putback" rel="noopener">Jalen Williams not only saved</a> the Oklahoma City Thunder from the verge of defeat against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. He also made history in the process.</p><p>Williams, who drained the game-winning putback with 0.5 second left to power the Thunder to the 107-106 win, finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists. It’s actually his third 25-5-5 game in his rookie season, putting him in elite company in franchise history.</p><p>Apparently, only three Thunder rookies ever have <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAHistory/status/1641267563383455749" rel="noopener">at least three games</a> with a 25-5-5 stat line, per NBA History. The other two? It’s no other than Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. That’s not a bad company to be in at all considering that both KD and Westbrook went on to become NBA MVPs.</p><p>With that said, Williams is certainly off to a great start in his Thunder career.</p><p>Jalen Williams, the 12th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, has put on a Rookie of the Year-caliber season with the Thunder. In the 17 games he has played since the All-Star break and prior to Wednesday’s game, he has averaged 19.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals. He has been a big reason why Oklahoma City is able to stay in contention for a Play-In spot, and he could very well be a major factor in their bid to make it to the postseason.</p><p>With his latest heroics, the Thunder remain in the 10th seed and extend their lead over the 11th-seeded Dallas Mavericks. With the way he and the whole team are playing as well, it doesn’t seem like another team can overtake them.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Move over, Kevin Durant. Jalen Williams crashes Thunder rookie party with epic record

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-okc-fans-going-nuts-after-jalen-williams-stuns-pistons-with-last-second-putback');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder fans going nuts after Jalen Williams stuns Pistons with last-second putback');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Jalen-Williams-Thunder-Pistons.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder fans going nuts after Jalen Williams stuns Pistons with last-second putback</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-03-29T19:54:27-07:00">March 29th, 7:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-03-29T19:55:46-07:00">March 29th, 7:55pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>A Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, Rex claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>What a night <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-odds-pistons-vs-thunder-prediction-pick-how-to-watch-3-29-2023" rel="noopener">for Jalen Williams</a> and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The entire fanbase of the Thunder is rocking after Williams delivered a game-winning putback against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">JALEN WILLIAMS GAME-WINNING TIP IN🔥<a href="https://t.co/f7aheuVLip">pic.twitter.com/f7aheuVLip</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1641266598588690433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The miracle bucket from Jalen Williams came off a desperate Josh Giddey shot from the baseline. Fortunately for Giddey and the Thunder, Williams was there to clean up the miss. Williams was just at the right place at the right time. There was still half a second left on the game clock after Williams’ follow-up, but the Pistons had no timeouts left to set up a potential game-winner.</p><p>Jalen Williams finished the contest with a game-high 27 points, shooting 11-for-10 from the field with eight rebounds, six assists, and a block in 37 minutes. He was already putting in a lot of work before his heroic basket, but he made sure all his effort won’t go to waste with that spectacular putback everyone would be talking about in Oklahoma City for at least the next few days.</p><p>With the win over the Pistons, the Thunder are once again just a game below .500, improving to 38-39 — still good enough for 10th place in the Western Conference.  With Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks losing Wednesday to the Philadelphia 76ers plus the Thunder’s win over Detroit, Oklahoma City’s chances of making it to the Play-In Tournament just got even better.</p><p>Jalen Williams and the Thunder will take a much-deserved rest this Thursday before <a href="https://www.nba.com/thunder/schedule" rel="noopener">resuming </a>action on Friday versus the Indiana Pacers on the road.</p><p>Here are some of the top reactions to Jalen Williams’ game-winner:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Add a game winner in the Thunder’s biggest game of the year to Jalen Williams’ Rookie of the Year resume.</p><p>— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonRahbar/status/1641266450735177735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">GAME WINNER JALEN WILLIAMS </p><p>OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER WINNNNNNNNNNNNNN ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️<a href="https://t.co/jQGShdqp89">pic.twitter.com/jQGShdqp89</a></p><p>— Oklahoma City Brasil 🇧🇷(38-39) (@oklahoma_br) <a href="https://twitter.com/oklahoma_br/status/1641266220526624768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">JALEN WILLIAMS</p><p>JDUB</p><p>HIM</p><p>ROOKIE OF THE YEAR</p><p>— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Three_Cone/status/1641266096203264003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">AND A STAR IS BORN IN JALEN WILLIAMS</p><p>— ThunderChets (@ThunderChats) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThunderChats/status/1641266235659767809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jalen Williams with the game winning tip layup to beat the Pistons!</p><p>He’s having an insane finish to his rookie season. <a href="https://t.co/CMksc3wEur">pic.twitter.com/CMksc3wEur</a></p><p>— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradeauxNBA/status/1641266875224018944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder fans going nuts after Jalen Williams stuns Pistons with last-second putback

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-shaq-will-be-proud-of-jalen-williams-historic-rookie-tear');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shaq will be proud of Thunder rookie Jalen Williams’ historic rookie tear');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Jalen-Williams-Shaq-Thunder-NBA-Draft.jpg"></figure><h1>Shaq will be proud of Thunder rookie Jalen Williams’ historic rookie tear</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-03-14T21:00:20-07:00">March 14th, 9:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-03-14T21:00:20-07:00">March 14th, 9:00pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Loves Arsenal and the Los Angeles Clippers, so his loyalty can never be questioned. This guy has been through enough sports trauma for one lifetime.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jalen Williams <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2022-nba-draft-grades-for-every-1st-round-pick" rel="noopener">was not a highly-touted prospect</a> coming out of Santa Clara. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2022-nba-draft-news-thunder-select-jalen-williams-with-12th-pick" rel="noopener">There were questions</a> about the legitimacy of his collegiate performance, given the less-than-stellar competition he had to face. Moreover, it’s unclear whether his incredible measurements – the reason behind the incredible rise in his draft stock – would translate to the professional level. But evidently, the Oklahoma City Thunder knew what they were doing when they drafted this bundle of energy with the 12th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.</p><p>On Tuesday night, the Thunder rookie had another showing befitting of someone who has more experience in the NBA. Against the Brooklyn Nets, Williams put up 23 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals on 8-10 shooting from the field. In doing so, the 6’6 guard has managed to put up a stretch of incredibly efficient volume scoring.</p><p><a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/jalen-williams-true-shooting-from-february-7-to-march-14-2023" rel="noopener">Over the past 14 games</a>, Jalen Williams has averaged 20.2 points on an eye-popping 67.2 percent True Shooting. (To put that in perspective, Stephen Curry has a 66.8 percent TS on the season.) As a result, the Thunder guard <a href="https://twitter.com/sports_mediocre/status/1635834381192531968" rel="noopener">broke the record</a> Shaquille O’Neal put up (66.6 percent) for the highest TS percentage over a 14-game stretch for a rookie who’s averaging 20 or more points during that span, according to NBA Stats (stats_mediocre) on Twitter.</p><p>Simply put, what Williams is doing is unprecedented. It’s a testament to his ability to play within his strengths; in particular, Williams seems to have taken a page out of his Thunder teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s book with how silky he looks in his drives to the hoop. Moreover, it’s rare that Williams takes ill-advised shots, which should also speak volumes to how well the Thunder staff have developed the fledging rookie.</p><p>Most rookie guards struggle with efficiency woes, seeing as the level of competition in the NBA is higher and it, understandably, takes youngsters time to acclimate to the speed of the game. However, Jalen Williams has no such problems as he plays at his own pace. And if you’re in company with the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, you really are doing something right (unless it has anything to do with free-throw shooting).</p><p>It remains to be seen just how high Williams can fly. But one thing’s for sure: the Thunder have another keeper on their hands.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shaq will be proud of Thunder rookie Jalen Williams’ historic rookie tear

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-jalen-williams-undergoes-surgery-for-broken-face/');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jalen Williams undergoes surgery for broken face');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jalen_Williams.jpeg"></figure><h1>Jalen Williams undergoes surgery for broken face</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-10-21T10:47:33-07:00">October 21st, 10:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-10-21T10:47:33-07:00">October 21st, 10:47am</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder acquitted themselves well in Wednesday’s season-opener against the rebuilt Minnesota Timberwolves, falling 115-108 after entering the fourth quarter tied. Making the underdog Thunder’s performance all the more encouraging? They didn’t just do it without No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-out-for-2022-23-season-with-right-foot-injury/">out for the season</a> after suffering a Lisfranc injury to his right foot in August, but also absent another rookie lottery selection projected to play a major role in Oklahoma City’s present and future.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.nba.com/thunder/news/release-update-221021">Thunder announced</a> on Friday that Jalen Williams underwent successful surgery to address an orbital bone fracture sustained against Minnesota. He’s scheduled to be re-evaluated in 7-10 days.</p><p>The injury occurred with 4:29 left in the first half, as Williams closed out to the corner and contested a driving dunk attempt by Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels. Williams caught a forearm to the face as McDaniels rose to finish, immediately crumpling to the floor in pain as the whistle blew for a defensive foul. He didn’t return for the game’s remainder, finishing his NBA debut with five points, one assist and two turnovers on 2-of-2 shooting in just less than six minutes of play.</p><p>The biggest riser during in this year’s pre-draft process, Williams was taken with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2022 draft after a standout junior season at mid-major Santa Clara. The long, smooth 6’6′ wing burnished his reputation further at Summer League and again in exhibition play, emerging as a dark-horse candidate for Rookie of the Year given his versatile offensive repertoire and overall two-way poise.</p><p>Though the Thunder haven’t released a prospective timeline for Williams’ return, recent injury precedent across the league suggests he won’t be sidelined too long.</p><p>Joel Embiid, for instance, returned for Game 3 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Toronto Raptors only nine days after suffering an orbital fracture. Oklahoma City obviously won’t rush Williams back to the floor for regular season games like the Philadelphia 76ers did their franchise player during a pivotal playoff series, but Embiid’s brief time away nevertheless prompts optimism the 21-year-old could be back on the floor for the Thunder before Thanksgiving.</p><p>Expect fellow rookie Ousmane Dieng, picked just after Williams in the late lottery, to be among the biggest beneficiaries of his absence in terms of playing time, with Oklahoma City relying even more on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey for playmaking offensively.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jalen Williams undergoes surgery for broken face

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '');   ga('set', 'title', '4 bold predictions for Ousmane Dieng, Jalen Williams in their rookie seasons with Thunder');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/X-bold-predictions-for-Ousmane-Dieng-Jalen-Williams-in-their-rookie-seasons-with-Thunder.jpeg"></figure><h1>4 bold predictions for Ousmane Dieng, Jalen Williams in their rookie seasons with Thunder</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-07-09T07:08:08-07:00">July 9th, 7:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-07-09T07:08:08-07:00">July 9th, 7:08am</time><address><a>Enzo Flojo</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Even if much of the spotlight will be on Chet Holmgren, the Oklahoma City Thunder still have two other potentially electrifying rookies in Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams.</p><p>The 2022 NBA Draft represented the second stage of Oklahoma City’s rebirth for the new era. Sam Presti and his team successfully made some very intriguing choices with generally exciting upsides.</p><p>The Thunder stuck to their plan and selected Gonzaga big Chet Holmgren at No. 2 before getting New Zealand Breakers forward Ousmane Dieng, Santa Clara guard Jalen Williams, and Arkansas center Jaylin Williams.</p><p>Let’s focus on Dieng and the first Williams — Jalen.</p><p>Picking Ousmane Dieng was clearly all about upside.</p><p>Presti has been keeping an eye on Dieng <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2022-nba-draft-news-thunder-team-select-ousmane-dieng-with-11th-pick/">for quite some time now</a>. Dieng saw a significant growth spurt while in France, moving him to the forward position by the time he signed with the New Zealand Breakers.</p><p>In this class, Dieng is the epitome of a <a href="https://www.peachtreehoops.com/2022/6/23/23180194/2022-nba-draft-scouting-report-ousmane-dieng-offense-defense-analysis-fit-atlanta-hawks-mock">high-risk, high-reward prospect</a>. Dieng, who is 6’10 with a wingspan of 7’1, has displayed exceptional ball-handling and playmaking abilities for a player of his size. He possesses a smooth shot release, and his lateral agility enables him to guard a variety of positions on the floor.</p><p>As for Jalen Williams, <a href="https://www.peachtreehoops.com/2022/6/13/23164946/2022-nba-draft-scouting-report-jalen-williams-offense-defense-mock-big-board-fit-atlanta-hawks">his stock increased</a> the most during this year’s draft scouting period. In his junior season, Williams assumed No. 1 duties on both ends of the court at Santa Clara. He eventually entered the draft lottery as a highly covert first-round choice.</p><p>Williams should be a really good fit for OKC. He possesses a wide range of attacking qualities that should complement star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. At 6’5, he was forced to play small forward in college, but his guard-like abilities never diminished. In fact, he has a really sharp eye for passing the ball. He also made significant progress with his catch-and-shoot game. He was a 40% three-point shooter both on the move and in spot-up situations for the Broncos.</p><p>How will Dieng and Williams charge up the Thunder? Let’s see.</p><h2><i>*Watch NBA games LIVE with <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/nba/?irad=356361&amp;irmp=492408">fuboTV (click for free trial)</a>*</i></h2><h2>Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams Bold Thunder Predictions</h2><h2>4. Dieng will be a good passing big</h2><p>Ousmane Dieng demonstrated that he was a dynamic playmaker in the half-court and during transition during the little time he was in the NBL-Australia. He frequently slung passes past opponents with his massive wingspan and had a very silky grip for someone his stature. His offensive feel and awareness clearly stand out. Because of his length and excellent coordination, he can finish around contact when passing the ball around the hoop as well. He may not be at the caliber of, say, Nikola Jokic in terms of “big men who pass,” but he has the makings of it.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ousmane Dieng ➡️ Jeremiah Robinson-Earl <a href="https://t.co/O5e3xyWeHl" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/O5e3xyWeHl</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1544842864496201729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">July 7, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2>3. Dieng will be pushed around a lot</h2><p>Opponents will bully the 19-year-old because of his frame. Despite this, the Thunder rookie should be able to put on weight and growth as he gets older. He currently depends heavily on floaters and runners to score near the basket because he hasn’t demonstrated the ability to consistently finish through contact yet. That could be a problem against bigger and longer defenders.</p><p>He does well defensively while playing in rotations since it gives him the freedom to roam around. When playing straight up in the post, however, he will get pushed around. Dieng won’t be able to stop an NBA finisher who is desperate to score at the rim.</p><h2>2. Williams will provide instant offense</h2><p>On offense, Jalen Williams has a rare ability to scan the whole field when running the pick-and-roll. Game film shows that Williams observes every specific move being made on the weak side while the opposing defenses apply a certain coverage. He capitalizes by generally reading the coverage well and making the right decision. He also has an unusual talent for extending the play while waiting for the defense to decide what to do. Williams also has a knack for getting to the basket or using a nifty floater when needed.</p><p>Taking all these into account, Williams can spell SGA and Giddey without much of a dip in skill level or production. Instant offense off the bench? Big check.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Josh Giddey drops his 10th dime of the night to Jalen Williams for the slam!</p><p>Live Now on ESPN <a href="https://t.co/ZHuy4WtQQR" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/ZHuy4WtQQR</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1544507930963320839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">July 6, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2>1. Williams won’t have much upside</h2><p>Having said that, Williams’ potential for advancement has been slightly capped because he’s already 21 years old. That already makes any rookie old by NBA standards. The Thunder do have a relatively polished piece who can instantly make an impact, but the big question is whether we’ve seen all Williams has to offer or not. Unlike Dieng, who clearly has a lot of growth ahead of him, the fear with Williams is whether this is as good as it gets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
21.6	5.9	5.0	0.8	1.8

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
21.6	5.9	5.0	0.8	1.8

Jalen Williams news

Jalen
Williams news