Jalen Devonn Williams (born April 14, 2001), also known by his nickname J-Dub, is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Santa Clara Broncos The Santa Clara Broncos are athletic teams that represent Santa Clara University. The school colors are red and white. The nicknames for teams is The Broncos and the student fans are referred to as the "Ruff Riders". The Broncos compete in the NC ...

for three seasons before declaring for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

where he was selected by the Thunder in the first round.

High school career

Williams played basketball at Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona. Starting off as a 6-feet tall point guard, Williams grew five inches from his sophomore to senior year of high school. Despite this, Santa Clara still listed him as a 6'3" guard when Williams signed his national letter of intent. As a senior, Williams was ranked 9th among prep players in Arizona by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a larg ...

. Williams ended his high school career averaging more than 25 points per game in his senior year, being named the Chandler Unified School District Player of the Year as a junior, and was awarded the 2017–18 Region Offensive Player of the Year.

Recruiting

Rated as a three-star recruit by major recruiting services

and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

, Williams committed to Santa Clara over offers from

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

College career

On November 5, 2019, Williams made his debut for Santa Clara, recording 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals against

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge ...

. As a freshman, Williams played in all 33 games, starting in the final 23 games while leading the team in steals with 44 – which ranked third on the school's all-time freshman list. Against

Mississippi Valley State Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi. In the opening round of the 2021 WCC tournament, Williams recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...

in a 78–70 loss. He increased his scoring average to 11.5 points in 31.6 minutes in his sophomore season. In his final season with Santa Clara, Williams emerged as a scorer, finishing second in the WCC with 18.0 points per game while shooting 51.3%. In 31 out of 33 games, Williams scored in double figures including scoring 16 or more points in 21 games. Against

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, Williams registered a career-high 30 points with four rebounds and four assists on November 30, 2021. On January 27, 2022, Williams hit a game-winning shot against

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

while finishing with 26 points. On March 15, 2022 in the 2022 NIT, Williams played his final collegiate game, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 assists in a 63–50 loss against

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. At the end of the season, Williams was named as a First Team All-WCC selection, Second Team NABC All-District, and was named as a finalist for the

Lou Henson Award The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually by '' CollegeInsider.com'' to the most outstanding mid-major men's college basketball player in NCAA Division I competition. The award, established in 2010, is named for legendary Illinois Fighting Il ...

, given to the nation's top mid-major player. As a three-year guard, Williams finished his collegiate career as a two-time All-WCC choice and reached 1,000 career points as a junior after averaging 12.6 points on 46.9% shooting for his career. On March 31, 2022, Williams declared for the

while maintaining his collegiate eligibility.

Professional career

Oklahoma City Thunder (2022–present)

Described as a long, smooth small forward who can score on strong efficiency numbers while showing a sense of urgency and can use his length to contest shots, Williams was drafted 12th overall by the

in the

. With the selection, Williams became the first Santa Clara player to be drafted since Steve Nash in 1996. He is currently the highest drafted Bronco prospect in the modern era and the second-highest in Santa Clara history behind Ken Sears in 1955.

2022–2023: Rookie season

On October 19, 2022, Williams made his NBA debut, putting up 5 points in 6 minutes before taking a hit defending a dunk attempt by Jaden McDaniels. He would leave the game and later undergo surgery to address a right orbital bone fracture. After missing four games, Williams started sporadically for the Thunder until forward

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Jeremiah Christian Robinson-Earl (born November 3, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. High schoo ...

suffered a right ankle sprain which made him the full-time starter. With guard

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Shaivonte Aician Gilgeous-Alexander ( ; born July 12, 1998), also known by his initials SGA, is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played one year of col ...

sidelined, Williams scored 27 points and helped rallied the Thunder from a 20-point second-half deficit against the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

on November 30, 2022. The next day, he was named NBA Rookie of the Month for October/November after averaging 10.7 points on 52.4% shooting, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. He became the third Thunder rookie to win Rookie of the Month honors after

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, he is a nine-time NBA All-Star and ...

and

Josh Giddey Joshua Giddey (born 10 October, 2002) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Thunder with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. Gi ...

. On January 31, 2023, Williams was named to the 2023 Rising Stars Challenge after averaging 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals in 46 games. Against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, Williams recorded a career-high 32 points on 12–15 shooting in a 129–119 win. Without Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams was one point shy of tying his then career-high with 31 points along with 4 steals in a 137–134 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. After the Thunder fell two games under .500, Williams had a putback with less than a second in a 107–106 win after

's hook shot rolled off. He led the Thunder with 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists and joined

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...

and

to have three or more games with at least 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in a season as a rookie. Williams was later named his second NBA Rookie of the Month award for March and April. In his rookie season, Williams averaged 14.1 points on 52% shooting and finished second in

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

voting with 75 second place votes and 16 third place votes. Williams was later named to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

becoming the second Thunder player to be named to it and the fifth Thunder player overall to be named to an All-Rookie team.

2023–2024

On December 27, 2023, Williams scored a career-high 36 points in a 129–120 win over the New York Knicks. On January 23, 2024, Williams put up 19 points alongside a game-winning jumpshot in a 111–109 win over the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

National team career

In preparation for the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be ...

, Williams was selected to the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s Select team alongside Thunder teammate Chet Holmgren.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

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, 71 , , 71 , , 31.3 , , .540 , , .427 , , .814 , , 4.0 , , 4.5 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 19.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 146 , , 133 , , 30.8 , , .532 , , .395 , , .813 , , 4.2 , , 3.9 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 16.5

Play-in

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, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 36.1 , , .375 , , .308 , , .750 , , 4.0 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , 14.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 2 , , 2 , , 36.1 , , .375 , , .308 , , .750 , , 4.0 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , .5 , , 14.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Santa Clara , 33 , , 22 , , 25.5 , , .436 , , .352 , , .763 , , 2.8 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.5 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, style="text-align:left;", Santa Clara , 18 , , 17 , , 31.6 , , .399 , , .274 , , .757 , , 4.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", Santa Clara , 33 , , 33 , , 34.8 , , .513 , , .396 , , .809 , , 4.4 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.5 , , 18.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 84 , , 72 , , 30.5 , , .469 , , .352 , , .785 , , 3.7 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 12.6

Personal life

Williams was born in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

but moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

when he was 7 years old. His parents – Ronald and Nicole Williams – were both members of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. His younger brother, Cody Williams, is a consensus five-star recruit who plays college basketball at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

References

External links

Santa Clara Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jalen 2001 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Denver Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks Oklahoma City Thunder players Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball players Shooting guards