Thunder forward Jalen Williams' honest admission on free-throw shooting differential
12/20/2024 04:12 PM
Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault expressed his frustration with NBA officials and Jalen Williams after the Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 105-99. Despite scoring 11 points on 5-of-15 attempts, Williams didn’t earn a single free throw in Thursday’s win.
After the game, he expressed his frustration after Daigneault’s initial comments.
“It’s very frustrating. I also don’t let that affect the rest of my game. I think I average like 21-something points with no free throws. So, it’s almost encouraging in a way because when I do get the whistle, I am getting calls; obviously, I can boost my numbers that way,” Williams said. “But, I’m very good at a lot of other things. So, I try to do those in the meantime. Like I said, it’s something that I’m working on.”
This isn’t the first time Williams has mentioned his free-throw shooting disparity, which he considers a focal point in improving his game in 2024-25. Still, he does his best not to let it impact his game.
“You can’t let games like this where, and I’m going to avoid a fine, but games like this, where I don’t go to the line, affect the overall trajectory of what I’m trying to do,” Williams added. “We have so many games where I can do it. Just me. I’ll even put the blame on myself; it’s probably just me trying to get a whistle and still finish through contact. But, yeah, it’s just a long process of stuff.”
Mark Daigneault blasts refs with Jalen Williams comparison
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault attempted as many free throws as his starting forward Jalen Williams. Williams had a comical response to that.
“Impressive, huh? I drove a lot more than Mark,” Williams quipped. “We have a good relationship. I know I’m getting hit if Mark is saying something because Mark usually encourages me to go in there and try to get knocked out of the air a little bit, just to kind of practice it. And he’s usually upfront with me when I’m not getting fouled. So, I know there’s a big honesty piece to it. But, again, there’s a lot of other stuff going on the officials have to look at. So, again, it’s just one of those things where I have to figure it out and keep doing what I’m doing.”
The Thunder will look to make it two straight when they face the Heat on Friday.
The post Thunder forward Jalen Williams’ honest admission on free-throw shooting differential appeared first on ClutchPoints.
