Lebron23
03-11-2023, 06:28 PM
Kevin Durant did it, Russell Westbrook did it and now Jalen Williams has done it.
Williams became the third rookie in franchise history to put up 30 points, five rebounds and five assists with his performance — a season-best 32 points, actually — Sunday in Oklahoma City’s victory against Utah.
The 6-foot-6 two-way player hit 12 of his 15 shots, including four of five from the arc, with two blocks and two assists. As a result, he has vaulted into the No. 2 spot in the latest edition of the Kia Rookie Ladder, crashing what had been an exclusive 1-2 club of Paolo Banchero and Bennedict Mathurin for most of this 2022-23 season.
If there were a Most Improved Rookie award, Williams would be a favorite to win it. Over the past month, Williams has averaged 20.2 points in 11 games, shooting 57.4% with 5.1 rpg and 4.4 apg. He has logged a plus-3.4 average while helping OKC go 5-6 during that span.
Compare that to Williams’ welcome-to-the-NBA first 11 games — 8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.7 apg on 52.6% shooting and a minus-6.2 — and his pattern of improvement from high school through three years at Santa Clara is alive and well.
Increased familiarity with his role, his team and the league has helped Williams get comfortable, which in turn lets him make opponents feel rather uncomfortable.
“I know where I’m going to be at on the floor,” he said recently. “I know kind of what the rotation is going to look like. I just attribute it to being more comfortable, working on my game and figuring out a routine.”
With his size and his handle, Williams has been ideal in this positionless basketball era. He has an aggressiveness that shows up at both ends, from here and here to here, here and here.
https://cdn.nba.com/manage/2023/03/jalen-williams-iso-looks-1536x864.jpg
Season stats: 13.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 apg
Since last Ladder: 25.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4
Draft pick: No. 12 overall
https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-march-8-2023-edition
Williams became the third rookie in franchise history to put up 30 points, five rebounds and five assists with his performance — a season-best 32 points, actually — Sunday in Oklahoma City’s victory against Utah.
The 6-foot-6 two-way player hit 12 of his 15 shots, including four of five from the arc, with two blocks and two assists. As a result, he has vaulted into the No. 2 spot in the latest edition of the Kia Rookie Ladder, crashing what had been an exclusive 1-2 club of Paolo Banchero and Bennedict Mathurin for most of this 2022-23 season.
If there were a Most Improved Rookie award, Williams would be a favorite to win it. Over the past month, Williams has averaged 20.2 points in 11 games, shooting 57.4% with 5.1 rpg and 4.4 apg. He has logged a plus-3.4 average while helping OKC go 5-6 during that span.
Compare that to Williams’ welcome-to-the-NBA first 11 games — 8.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.7 apg on 52.6% shooting and a minus-6.2 — and his pattern of improvement from high school through three years at Santa Clara is alive and well.
Increased familiarity with his role, his team and the league has helped Williams get comfortable, which in turn lets him make opponents feel rather uncomfortable.
“I know where I’m going to be at on the floor,” he said recently. “I know kind of what the rotation is going to look like. I just attribute it to being more comfortable, working on my game and figuring out a routine.”
With his size and his handle, Williams has been ideal in this positionless basketball era. He has an aggressiveness that shows up at both ends, from here and here to here, here and here.
https://cdn.nba.com/manage/2023/03/jalen-williams-iso-looks-1536x864.jpg
Season stats: 13.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 apg
Since last Ladder: 25.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4
Draft pick: No. 12 overall
https://www.nba.com/news/kia-rookie-ladder-march-8-2023-edition