Jaylin Michael Williams (born June 29, 2002), nicknamed J-Will, 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

of the

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

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

. He was selected by the Thunder in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft.

High school career

Williams played basketball for Northside High School in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, where he played with his future NBA teammate,

Isaiah Joe Derrick Isaiah Joe (born July 2, 1999) nicknamed "Zai", 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 li ...

. 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 Gatorade Player of the Year honors and repeating as Arkansas Division I Player of the Year. A consensus four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

over an offer from Auburn, 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 a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

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

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and made the All-Defensive Team. Williams led the

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

with 54 charges 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

Williams was selected by the

in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft 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 cam ...

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 Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

in the Salt Lake City Summer League. On July 19, 2022, Williams signed with the Thunder. In October 2024, Williams suffered a right hamstring strain which left him out of the remainder of preseason. Williams returned to active play on December 23. On March 7, Williams recorded his first career triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 107–89 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 Northwest Division (N ...

. On March 19, Williams recorded his second career triple-double with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 133–100 win over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. He also joined

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Westbrook made his NBA debut in 2008 and became a star as a member o ...

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Durant has won two List of NBA champions, NBA champ ...

, Josh Giddey, and

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 played one year of college ...

as the only players to record multiple triple-doubles in Thunder franchise history.

Personal life

Williams grew up in Fort Smith, Arkansas. His mother, Linda Williams, was born in Saigon (now

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

), Vietnam, and moved to the United States in 1975 after the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Williams is the first player of Vietnamese descent to play in the NBA.

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

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, 69 , , 1 , , 13.0 , , .417 , , .368 , , .805 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .4 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 47 , , 9 , , 16.7 , , .439 , , .399 , , .767 , , 5.6 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .6 , , 5.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 165 , , 46 , , 15.7 , , .430 , , .390 , , .752 , , 4.5, , 1.9 , , .5 , , .4 , , 5.1

Playoffs

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2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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, 10 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .485 , , .409 , , .750 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .3 , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 10 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .485 , , .409 , , .750 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .3 , , 4.4

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 Blue players Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks Oklahoma City Thunder players Power forwards Sportspeople from Fort Smith, Arkansas 21st-century American sportsmen