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OKC Thunder forward Jaylin Williams' impact on, off court led to new contract extension
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- OKC Thunder forward Jaylin Williams' impact on, off court led to new contract extension
Jaylin Williams is a unique player.
Described by general manager Sam Presti on Monday during his end-of-season press conference as a "source of energy," Williams brought a loud voice to the Oklahoma City Thunder 's road to the NBA championship, even from the sidelines. Williams played 17 games for a total of 141 minutes during the 2025 playoffs.
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His value to the Thunder was rewarded with a contract extension over the weekend . While the Thunder has a chance to extend its stars this offseason — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are all eligible — the team did its first deal this summer with J-Will.
Presti has long been impressed by Williams' impact. The GM recalled a January game the Thunder played in Philadelphia , in the middle of a Northeast winter. The team went on to the court to do a shootaround early in the morning, and Presti said it felt like they were outside. The players couldn't get going, but Williams changed the mood.
"That guy was yelling everyone's names and making jokes, keeping everybody loose," Presti said. "(He) was getting the energy redirected, so that people weren't totally focused on the elements. He just kept the mood in the right spot."
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Most importantly, Presti remembered when Chet Holgrem got injured in November. Holmgren suffered a right iliac wing fracture, an upper pelvis injury, in a game against the Golden State Warriors .
"In all my years doing this, I've never, ever seen a player in so much pain," Presti said.
Williams was also injured at the time, watching the game from the bench. He had suffered a hamstring injury during the preseason. When Holmgren went down, Williams and teammate Isaiah Hartenstein helped him.
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As Holmgren suffered in agony, not even making it back to the locker room, Williams and Hartenstein stood by him. Holmgren was in so much pain that he might not have even noticed the presence of his teammates.
"It was uncomfortable," Presti said. "It was uncomfortable because when someone's in that much pain, it's hard to be a bystander. And those guys were both injured at the time. It was the greatest act of team support and teammate support I'd ever seen. I don't know that it'll ever be matched. They sat with him. They supported him."
Holmgren returned to the court 39 games later in February. He was in the starting lineup for the Thunder's postseason run.
"I have to think that those small acts of support and selflessness were somewhere inside of the last two months," Presti said.
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Jaylin Williams shows fans the Larry O'Brien trophy at Scissortail Park after the Thunder's championship parade throughout downtown Oklahoma City on June 24.
During the 2024-25 season, Williams shot 39.9% from the 3-point range and scored his first career triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers in March. He recorded his second just weeks after against the Philadelphia 76ers with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 assists. With those, he became just the fifth player in franchise history to record multiple triple-doubles.
After the championship win, Williams and the Thunder interacted with the local community and fans. The title was much bigger than just bringing a trophy to Oklahoma City . It was about showing humility and bringing joy to teary-eyed elders and hope-filled children.
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And Williams also had the mic-drop moment, addressing the crowd .
"Five-hundred thousand kids get a better understanding of what makes J-Will so special or Kenrich Williams or Shai's humility or Dub's persistence in the face of scrutiny, or Chet Holmgren's resilience to come back from that injury, or Ajay Mitchell going from the 38th pick in the draft to playing, to working so hard to come back for two or three regular-season games so that in those last two games, we were resting a couple guys, but if Ajay Mitchell is not available, we wouldn't be able to have those guys resting," Presti said.
"We're going to fight like hell to maintain the humility and the togetherness and the respect for the process that we need to have, but I do think what the team has done for the city is basically giving it a bit of a roadmap for the youth of like the collective good and sacrifice."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jaylin Williams' impact led to new contract with NBA champion Thunder
