Thunder forward Jalen Williams' revealing take on first All-Star selection
02/06/2025 12:49 PM
After missing two consecutive games following the announcement of making his first All-Star selection, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams returned for Wednesday’s 140-109 win against the Phoenix Suns. After the All-Star reserves were announced, Williams was ruled out due to a wrist injury but took the opportunity to speak about heading to San Francisco next weekend.
Williams reacted to his first All-Star selection on social media, but for the first time in person, he discussed what it meant during his postgame media availability after Wednesday’s win. Jalen’s excited for next week’s All-Star Game.
“It’s a very cool experience,” Williams said. “A good honor, for sure. I was very excited hearing my name — a lot of it I attribute to my team. I think just where we are, I think, helped out with that a lot with what we’ve been doing this season. I haven’t really had time to think about it a lot. I’ve been out with my hand. So, that’s kind of been a priority with that.
“But, I feel like at some point it’ll probably hit me when I get closer to it, but we have so many more important games that I haven’t really thought about it much,” Williams concluded.
Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams finished with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in Wednesday’s win against the Suns. However, it was his All-Star teammate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose 50-point performance led Oklahoma City to a 31-point victory against the Suns.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reacts to 50-point game in Thunder win
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reached his third 50+ point game in three weeks on Wednesday. After the game, Gilgeous-Alexander was asked if there was an explanation for why he’s been able to produce these incredibly impressive performances of late.
"It doesn’t feel different," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I feel like I’m getting better, most importantly. Skill-wise, mentality-wise, sharpening my blade, sharpening my tools. So, whether they go in or not just making sure I’m getting better is the most important thing."
In reaching his third 50+ point game in three weeks, Gilgeous-Alexander joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant as some of the Hall of Fame scorers who’ve reached the same feat.
"Honestly, it doesn’t mean that much to me," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Those guys have done so many great things with the game. I’m so far off with that. It’s cool, but I don’t think too much of it. Like I said before, the most important thing is to know that I’m getting better through this process.”
The Thunder will conclude their four-game homestand against the Raptors on Friday.
The post Thunder forward Jalen Williams’ revealing take on first All-Star selection appeared first on ClutchPoints.
