After this past season, Jalen Williams is a household name. The first-time All-Star and NBA champion has the contract extension to show for it now.
Williams agreed to a five-year maximum rookie contract extension on Thursday that could reach $287 million with the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The 24-year-old, two-way wing is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game for a 68-win Thunder squad that won it all.
Williams further established himself as Oklahoma City’s No. 2 option behind this year’s league MVP, scoring champ and Finals MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As Williams made his mark on the Thunder’s championship run, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen remarked that he sees a lot of himself in the league’s newest sidekick sensation.
Like Pippen, Williams was an unheralded high school prospect who came into his own at a mid-major while growing, both figuratively and literally, into a first-round NBA Draft selection.
Pippen and Michael Jordan won six championships with the Bulls in the ’90s. Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander, along with 23-year-old center Chet Holmgren, have a runway to create their own dynasty in Oklahoma City.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren have now each made long-term commitments to the Thunder. Thanks to extensions that could cost, in total, as much as $822 million, according to Charania, Oklahoma City’s “Big 3” is set for the rest of the decade.
Gilgeous-Alexander is the headliner, but the Thunder’s youthful roster is comprised of a collection of players who have bought into their roles, including Williams.
“It’s very easy when you have a team that likes to do their role,” Williams said earlier this month, via ESPN. “And I’m not saying that guys can’t branch out, but just when everybody kind of accepts that role for the better of their team … I know mine.
“When you just have guys that are willing to do that, it allows everybody to grow and get better.”
The Thunder took the now-6-foot-6 Williams with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 draft, just 10 picks after they grabbed Holmgren.
Williams was runner-up for NBA Rookie of the Year in 2023, finishing second to Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero.
The Santa Clara product has upped his scoring average each season of his young, three-year NBA career. Williams already has two seasons with at least 100 3s and is a 38.2% career 3-point shooter.
Also a member of the 2025 NBA All-Defensive Second Team, Williams has averaged at least 1.1 steals per game all three seasons since he was drafted. His length and active hands played a big part in the Thunder finishing the 2024-25 regular season with, by far, the league’s best defensive rating (106.6). Williams’ career-high 1.61 steals per game were the seventh most of any player this past season — and Oklahoma City, as a whole, tallied 10.2 steals per 100 possessions, the highest rate for any team in the last 12 seasons.
Williams has maintained his playmaking skills that he fostered when he was shorter, allowing him to run point for the Thunder in pivotal situations. But his creative, three-level shotmaking ability stole the show during the postseason.
During the Thunder’s 23-game march to NBA supremacy, Williams averaged 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. While he shot only 30.4% from deep in the playoffs, he had 12 games with at least two 3s, including a 34-point clinic in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals when he made 6 of 9 from long range against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Williams topped that scoring performance in the NBA Finals. He went for a team-high 40 points in a series-tilting Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers.
A rising all-around star with a ring, Williams is now equipped with a well-earned max extension.
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