Jalen Williams rose from a Santa Clara standout to an All-NBA, All-Defense cornerstone on an Oklahoma City Thunder squad that rewrote the regular season record book. His unlikely trajectory beside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander powered a 68-14 pace and the franchise’s first championship in recent memory, with Williams earning his first All-Star nod and a contract extension as the payoff.

A revealing Summer League moment—going toe-to-toe with Darius Bazley— foreshadowed the fierce energy and competitiveness that fueled Williams’s breakout. Bazley’s later Phoenix trade and Lakers Summer League flirtation underscore the evolving Thunder era that Williams helped define.