Jalen Williams is a bona fide star in the NBA. After helping lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the title last season, and along the way, earning All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive Team distinctions, J-Dub has undoubtedly established himself as an elite player in the league despite being only 23 years of age.
Although Jalen has been successful since the moment he joined the Thunder in 2022, he, much like any young player in the league, also had to go through some rough teaching moments at the hands of the NBA’s best, including Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant. Williams relayed some of these stories to Tony Allen and Zach Randolph during his appearance on the “Out The Mud” podcast.
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Klay appreciated the effort
During the 2022-23 season, Klay, still a key player for the Golden State Warriors, appeared to have fully regained his form after spending two seasons sidelined by ACL and Achilles injuries. He led the league in three-point makes per game at 4.4 and shot 41 percent from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, the task of checking Thompson was left to Williams. And much like any veteran who saw a rookie defender on him, Killa Klay took offense.
“Klay, I was playing defense on him the whole night,” he recalled. “Klay hit one on me from behind the backboard.”
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As astonishing as that play was for Jalen, who quickly learned how great offense always beats terrific defense, that wasn’t the highlight of the story.
“As it went in, he slapped me on the butt,” he added. “And said, ‘Good try, rook.'”
It was a definitive “Welcome to the NBA” moment for Williams, who discovered just how tough it was to cover a player like Thompson. However, that was only the tip of the iceberg. As superb a player as Klay is, Kawhi is a different beast.
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The Klaw was relentless
The NBA schedule can be relentless, and J-Dub recalled the challenge of the Thunder facing the Los Angeles Clippers in back-to-back games. In the first game, Williams felt good as he helped limit Kawhi to only 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting. More importantly, OKC won that game, 101-100, as Lu Dort’s incredible defense on the Clippers’ final offensive kept Kawhi from even attempting a shot.
“We beat them. Kawhi had a horrible game, and I did a good job guarding him, so I was juiced,” Jalen conveyed.
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But as the great ones almost always do, they take notes. They remember. And boy, did Kawhi remember.
“But then we played them back-to-back. He started the game out 9-for-9 on me,” Williams divulged. “We go back to the huddle, and Mark — who always says slick stuff — was like, ‘He’s busting your a—, Jaylen. We need to switch?’ I looked at him like, ‘Yeah.'”
Even with Lu switching on him, Kawhi proved unstoppable, as he finished the game with 32 points, making all but two of his 15 attempts.
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Kevin wasn’t even paying attention to Jalen
Lastly, Jalen discussed when Durant returned to OKC to play against his former team. As it almost always is, the atmosphere was charged as the fans let Kevin hear it. In typical KD fashion, he chirped back and was focused on the back-and-forth that he didn’t really notice Jalen’s defense on him.
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“Fans were chirping at him, and you know KD talks back. He was talking to the fans while bumping me, shooting over me,” Jalen remembered. “Hitting everything.”
“It was horrible, bro,” he asserted.
J-Dub is undoubtedly on a path to superstardom. With a championship already secured early in his career, Jalen can now focus on honing his skills and potentially adding individual accolades to his resume. However, no matter what heights Williams reaches, he’ll always remember the humbling moments of getting outplayed in the early days of his journey.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.