Last week, Santa Clara announced plans to retire the jersey of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams. It’s quite the honor for Williams, who is only in his third season in the NBA. His No. 24 will hang in the rafters forever after Santa Clara’s December 3rd matchup against Utah Tech.
𝑱𝑫𝑼𝑩 𝑱𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬𝒀 𝑹𝑬𝑻𝑰𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻✨🐎
On December 3rd, @jdubwttp joins the Bronco greats in the rafters‼️
🎟️🔗 in our bio!#StampedeAhead | #ScoCosInThePros pic.twitter.com/29GUSLNtOu
— Santa Clara Men’s Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 1, 2025
Santa Clara’s basketball history is rich, making this a high honor for Williams. He joins a handful of other NBA standouts to get their number retired at the school, including Bob Feerick, Steve Nash, Nick Vanos, Bud Ogden, Kurt Rambis, Dennis Awtrey and Ken Sears.
Williams played for three years at Santa Clara, and started in 72 out of 84 games. He burst onto the scene during the 2021-22 season, his junior year, when he averaged 18.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 steals. He was named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award — given to the nation’s top mid-major player.
His play at Santa Clara caught the eye of NBA scouts, and his rise to the lottery is one that will be talked about for ages. He went from a projected second-round pick, to a first-round home run swing in such a short span of time. Most mock drafts had him mid-to-late first round by the time draft night rolled around, but Oklahoma City knew his value was much higher. The Thunder scooped Williams up at pick No. 12, and the rest is history.
Despite how good his college stats were, Williams has already eclipsed every single one of them in the NBA. Last season, he averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. He established himself as a premier defender in the NBA, too, adding 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per night. He completed the impressive trifecta, earning an All-Star nod, a spot on the All-NBA Third Team, and a bid for the NBA All-Defensive team. Williams was a key factor in Oklahoma City’s first ever NBA Championship, and recorded a 40-points NBA Finals performance, too.
According to Santa Clara’s press release, Williams is the first player from the school to win an NBA Championship since Kurt Rambis in 1988. Williams continues to support Santa Clara and gives his former university love whenever he can.
After a season full of accolades on the court, this one likely means a lot to Williams. And he’ll certainly have many more to come over the course of his career. After his impressive NBA Finals run, Williams underwent wrist surgery and just returned to the Thunder’s starting lineup last week. He’s starting to settle in, and certainly looking to capitalize on last year’s success. If Oklahoma City is able to repeat as champions, Williams will clearly be a big reason why.