The Oklahoma City Thunder held practice on Wednesday, Dec. 17. It’s the last day of a mini-four-day Christmas break thanks to the funky NBA Cup tournament.
The Thunder will host the LA Clippers on Thursday before they travel to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in an impromptu home-and-road back-to-back created by the NBA Cup schedule.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins talked to the local media after practice.
Daigneault discussed the type of personality OKC seeks. Wiggins revealed his message to the two-way players. And Williams talked about the Las Vegas atmosphere and his relationship with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa.
Here’s what else happened at OKC’s Wednesday, Dec. 17 practice:
Jalen Williams on his relationship with AJ Dybantsa: “I know Thunder Twitter and everybody else in the world is going to run with what I say, so I gotta be careful. Just a good dude… Everybody knows about the picks and everything going on.” pic.twitter.com/FlQWQn9Mft
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Jalen Williams said he didn’t watch the NBA Cup finals last night: “I watched ‘The Town’ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ and then I FaceTimed my parents.” pic.twitter.com/9G3ZlzVDkG
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Jalen Williams on theNBA Cup atmosphere: “It’s cool but I play (in OKC) so it’s a drop-off. It is cool to see Vegas rally around the games. Anytime a city is auditioning for a team to be there, it definitely shows out.” pic.twitter.com/mYZXJlpBbF
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Jalen Williams on playing with Hartenstein: “It was good. Hart’s a very good screener, high IQ… It’ll be cool to get that connection back… I think that was our first minutes as a starting 5 too.” pic.twitter.com/od8G6tYd2b
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Aaron Wiggins on his message to the two-way players: “I was telling those guys, ‘Take advantage of those opportunities.’ Look at it as a real opportunity to get better and learn more…Be confident. Be comfortable.” pic.twitter.com/0PiwCvArfP
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Aaron Wiggins: “A lot of us who are coming from the G League, two-ways, finding a way to get a role, you had to be able to adapt to different situations… My rookie & 2nd year playing, I was playing like 5-man minutes sometimes. That’s something I took pride in.” pic.twitter.com/5ntTkRBSPy
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Aaron Wiggins: “Sam always talks about how he drafts people first and players second. The guys he drafted and the group in the locker room buys into the team-first mentality… This organization and system here has a set way of creating opportunity… Guys buy into that.” pic.twitter.com/JDa4nsVjWQ
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Aaron Wiggins on Daigneault: “Mark is gonna experiment… He’s gonna throw you in there when you least expect it. There’s gonna be moments where you might be ready and he doesn’t go to. And there’s gonna be moments when you’re not ready and he calls you. You gotta be as ready as… pic.twitter.com/ZTxV4R5pGr
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Mark Daigneault: “First of all, we get great guys. Not every player is the same. Sam and his group do a great job of identifying people that will naturally align with the things we emphasize.” pic.twitter.com/gfUnHfVQ7C
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025
Mark Daigneault on playing ugly basketball games: “We played 105 games last year, 106. That’s a lot of games. If you just live 105 different days, the weather is not the same every day. The day doesn’t unfold the same every time. Some days are great. Some days are tough.” pic.twitter.com/Lt3UuWKc4d
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) December 17, 2025