The Oklahoma City Thunder are waiting on Jalen Williams, and they’re waiting with a clear idea of what could take his game from very good to nearly complete.
Williams already checked a major box in 2024-25, when he averaged 21.6 points and earned All-NBA Third Team honors as part of the Thunder’s previous championship season. He’s established himself as a central piece in Oklahoma City’s future, and the next step is obvious: tighten up the three-point shot.
That’s the one area still hanging over his profile. Williams has had solid stretches from deep before, but last season he fell to 29.9% from beyond the arc and hit fewer than one three-pointer per game. It didn’t derail the Thunder in the regular season, but the postseason showed both the upside and the unfinished business.
His perimeter shooting surged in the playoffs, where he hit 41.7% from three. The problem was volume - he didn’t take many attempts from deep. That limitation came into focus in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, when Williams missed two key threes late.
That loss can’t be pinned on Williams alone, but it did underline what Oklahoma City is still chasing. If he becomes a more reliable threat from outside, the Thunder’s offense gets a lot harder to defend. He’d be dangerous both as a slasher and as a shooter, which is exactly the kind of combination that makes elite wings so valuable.
It would also push him right back into the conversation as one of the league’s best second options, and that kind of leap could carry the Thunder back to the NBA Finals just like in 2025.
Williams has already locked in his place as a major part of the rotation, and that role isn’t going anywhere. With the roster turnover this offseason, Oklahoma City needs its stars to carry more of the load. If Williams can add that final layer to his game, he might be the piece that gets the Thunder over the top again.
In Other News...
Thunder Young Guard Is Already Drawing The Kind Of Buzz Teams Notice
The Clippers long-running attempt to reshape their roster keeps looping back to Oklahoma City in one form or another, with past trades and draft-pick swaps still hanging over the franchises broader plans. Now, as CBS Sports Sam Quinn argues Los Angeles may need to lean on free agency to find its next reset, one Thunder guard is already entering the conversation as the kind of player teams around the league start circling once they prove they can handle bigger responsibility.
Ajay Mitchell has turned enough heads in Oklahoma City to become part of that larger discussion, and the comparison that keeps surfacing is the sort of one that gets front offices paying attention. The question is not whether Mitchell has shown he belongs in the mix, but whether the Thunder would ever make him available without a meaningful return, which is exactly the kind of uncertainty that turns a rising player into a talking point beyond his own locker room. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Could Face A Strange Problem With Their Star Trio
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have given Oklahoma City something every contender wants and almost no team can truly plan for: a young star trio that already looks established on the leagues biggest stages. Each has picked up All-NBA and All-Star recognition in recent years, and for a Thunder team that expects to stay near the top of the West, that kind of star power should be a strength instead of a headache.
Still, the way the honors have lined up has often been shaped by availability as much as performance. When one of Williams or Holmgren has been sidelined, the other has had more room to stand out, and that bigger role has helped push each into All-NBA third-team territory. The odd twist for Oklahoma City is that a healthier season for both could make the Thunder even better while making it harder for either one to gather enough individual support to keep that recognition rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Just Got A Tougher Cason Wallace Contract Problem
Ausar Thompsons new deal in Detroit adds another layer to a decision the Thunder were already going to have to navigate carefully with Cason Wallace. The Pistons guard landed a long-term extension, and even without getting into the exact dollars, it gives a useful reference point for where the market can go for young perimeter defenders who are still growing into bigger roles. For Oklahoma City, that kind of contract is worth watching because Wallace is still on a trajectory that could make him one of the teams most important young pieces.
The complication is the Thunders own cap picture, which leaves little room for mistakes or surprises when it comes time to reward Wallace. Oklahoma City is already working near the harshest parts of the leagues financial rules, so the team has to balance what Wallace might become with what it can actually afford to keep on the books. If he takes another step next season, the Thunder may have a real number to solve, and this latest extension around the league only sharpens the question of how far they can go. [Read more 🡒]