Feb. 26, 2026, 10:01 a.m. CT
Saving the ball from going into the backcourt, Jaylin Williams was rewarded for his hard work. The ball swung back to him. With Cade Cunningham on him, he drove to the basket and bumped him off for the fancy driving layup that banked in off the glass. The early bucket should’ve told you the type of night he’d enjoy.
The Oklahoma City Thunder showed fight in their 124-116 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The short-handed squad almost pulled off the seismic upset against the team vying for the NBA’s best record.
Williams finished with 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 11 rebounds and four assists. He shot 5-of-10 from 3 and went 7-of-7 on free throws. He also had one block and one steal.
Talk about stepping up. With everybody else out, the Thunder relied on their third-string center. He answered the call with a career-best 30 points against the NBA’s second-best defense. Unreal. While he enjoyed some hot outside shooting luck, he also had no problem getting to the cup and earning his points the blue-collar way.
It was a busy night at the free-throw line for Williams. He got there at a decent clip. That’s one of the ways to get an efficient 30 points. Ask Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He had 16 points in the first half. The Thunder opened up a double-digit lead and entered halftime in a gettable game because of his uptick in scoring.
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Mounting a comeback, Williams scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. He stepped up as a scorer as the Thunder tried to do the unthinkable. He also helped on the boards — something you can’t take for granted as the undersized OKC squad faced a tough Detroit team.
The Thunder are who folks think the Miami Heat are. Missing over half of their team on the road, they made the Pistons and San Antonio Spurs sweat out close wins against the C squad — the two teams most have penciled in as their biggest obstacles to back-to-back titles.
“We just have a group of resilient guys. Been up 30, been down 30. We’ve been up 20, down 20. We’ve been in close games throughout the whole game. We’ve had guys out, we’ve been healthy,” Williams said. “We’ve been in a lot of different situations. I think, regardless of what situation we’re in, we’re going to go at it the same way. We’re going out there and leaving it all on the court. We’re going to play defense.”
No matter who’s out, the Thunder will go all out. That might lead to losses, but it gives you a solid floor of being in most games. Williams is the latest example. The 23-year-old has mostly been in the backend of OKC’s rotation over the years, but he’s shown he’s capable of scaling up to whatever is needed on a night-to-night basis.
“It shows our organization and team is so great at keeping guys ready. Keeping guys ready for the moment or whatever situation it is,” Williams said. “You kinda never know who’s going to step up. You never know how many shots you’re going to get or what’s going to happen. You have a bunch of guys that’s willing to go out there and do whatever it takes to win. I think that shows how connected our team is. Nobody is selfish.”