It’s been quite the three-year journey for Jalen Williams. While that’s a long timeframe on paper, it’s probably felt like a blink of an eye for the 24-year-old, as his career has unfolded like an NBA 2K storyline. Taking everybody by surprise, he went from a small-school player to an All-NBA talent.

The Oklahoma City Thunder captured an NBA championship thanks to Williams’ unusual path to superstardom. He went from late lottery pick to the second-best player on one of the greatest teams in league history. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the headliner, they don’t bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy without him.

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The Thunder had a historic 68-14 regular-season record. They blew teams out left and right. That translated to the playoffs, with an NBA championship. Williams enjoyed a career season that saw him earn first-time All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defense bids.

Williams has ascended into one of the NBA’s best players. But everybody of his caliber has had humbling moments in their careers. Especially in his case, when he made the jump from Santa Clara to the NBA. While going from college to the pros always takes an adjustment period, that’s especially the case if you’re from a small school.

Williams recently appeared on the “Out The Mud” podcast with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen to talk about it. One moment that stuck out to him was one of the first times he had the chance to play with his new Thunder teammates. He was drafted with the No. 12 pick of the 2022 NBA draft. A couple of weeks later, he traveled to the Summer League.

After being busy for months with the predraft process, Williams learned the hard way just how much of an upgrade in competition he’ll have to get used to. In one of his five-on-five workouts, Darius Bazley was somebody who showed how real it gets at the NBA level.

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“Shoutout to Darius Bazley. I got to Summer League. Right before workouts, they were already playing. They didn’t have a good year, so everybody was kinda already back. Baze was killing the fives,” Williams said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way I can play on this team.'”

Bazley spent three-and-a-half seasons on the Thunder. While he couldn’t stay in OKC beyond his first contract, he was one of the staples of their early stages of their recent rebuild. In his two seasons as a starter, he averaged 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds.

“He had come off a big year. He was in the league since he was like 17. The fives, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m really ready for what’s going on.’ Truth be told,” Williams said. “He was wilding in there. He was windmilling, dunking on people, talking s—.”

Williams and Bazley were only teammates for a few months. The latter was traded to the Phoenix Suns during the 2023 NBA trade deadline. He’s hoped to return to the NBA recently, as he played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2025 Summer League.

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That said, it sounds like Bazley left a lasting impression on Williams. It probably benefited him in the long run, as he quickly established himself on the Thunder as one of their three best players. Three years later, he has a championship ring and a new contract extension to back that up.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: How a former Thunder teammate shocked Jalen Williams in rookie season