Jaylin Michael Williams (born June 29, 2002) is an American professional

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player for the

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of the

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(NBA). He played

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for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. He was selected by the Thunder in the second round of the

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High school career

Williams played basketball for Northside High School in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, where he was teammates with

Isaiah Joe Derrick Isaiah Joe (born July 2, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Early life and high school ...

, later his professional teammate with the Thunder. As a sophomore, he helped his team reach the Class 7A state final. In his junior season, Williams averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks per game, and was named Arkansas Division I Player of the Year by the ''Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette''. He led his team to the Class 6A state title and was named tournament MVP after recording 20 points and 16 rebounds in the title game. As a senior, Williams averaged 18.7 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game, earning Arkansas

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honors and repeating as Arkansas Division I Player of the Year. A consensus four-star

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, he committed to playing college basketball for

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

over an offer from

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, among other programs.

College career

As a freshman at Arkansas, Williams averaged 3.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He became a regular starter in his sophomore season. Williams averaged 10.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, receiving first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) honors from the league's coaches. He was a second-team All-SEC selection by the

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and made the All-Defensive Team. Williams led the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

with 54

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drawn and grabbed 364 rebounds, setting a program single-season record. He declared for the NBA draft and opted to forgo his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Oklahoma City Thunder (2022–present)

Williams was selected by the

in the second round of the

with the 34th overall pick, becoming the first player of Vietnamese descent to be drafted in the NBA. Williams joined the Thunder's

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus ...

team. In his Summer League debut, Williams scored two points and six rebounds in a 98–77 win 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), ...

in the Salt Lake City Summer League. On July 19, 2022, Williams signed with the Thunder.

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jaylin 2002 births Living people American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Vietnamese descent Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Basketball players from Arkansas Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks Oklahoma City Thunder players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Fort Smith, Arkansas American people of Vietnamese descent