Jalen Williams Rising Star Performance Leads Oklahoma City Thunder to 3-2 Lead in NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder were not expected to reach championship status due to their lack of a true sidekick for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Williams was not expected to be equipped to handle such responsibilities. However, the Thunder are just one game away from winning their first NBA championship, thanks to Williams' improvement every game, every minute. Williams has transformed into a two-way monster that should scare the NBA for years to come. His performance in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, where he scored 40 points to help stave off the Indiana Pacers, was no exception. The 120-109 win at Paycom Center gave OKC a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. "Oh yeah, for sure. Nobody wins a championship with one guy and nobody's stepping up," Gilgeous-Alexander told Yahoo Sports when asked about Williams. "Like, I don't care what team it was, you need somebody to step up. You need someone to be the second option. Take pressure off the lead guy. We know that. Everyone knows that, and he's been working like that his whole career, and he stepped in." Williams' performance felt familiar because on the other side was Pascal Siakam, the last sidekick to come out of nowhere to aid a superstar in June. Just like Toronto was always a team full of competitors and winners who would ultimately lose when it counted, that's what Oklahoma City would be thought of unless someone else stepped up. When Siakam rose to become Kawhi Leonard's capable sidekick, the trajectory on the Raptors went from always being punked by LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers to the team that finally won a championship. Gilgeous-Alexander had already finished second in Most Valuable Player voting and the Thunder were ahead of schedule last season, but most believed it would be Chet Holmgren as the dynamo next to him when the Thunder finally broke through. Instead, it's Williams, who was selected in the same draft as Holmgren but 10 picks later, who has become a key part of the Thunder's success. The Thunder will always say the right things, but the true test comes in actions that are a reflection of belief and trust. When Gilgeous-Alexander allowed Williams the space to essentially play point guard early in Game 4 when SGA was being hounded all over, it was confirmation of that trust. "Every moment," Gilgeous-Alexander told Yahoo Sports. "I trust him completely, like I trust myself." In Game 5, Gilgeous-Alexander turned into an aggressive facilitator (10 assists, 31 points), and Williams played as if he was shot from a cannon, attacking the rim like the gym was empty and taking passes from a trainer and connecting. "I think first, the biggest game thing, I've gotten kind of numb to," Williams said. "Every time we play in the Finals, it's the biggest game of your life. I definitely could have seen myself here a long time ago, I just didn't think it would happen this fast."
