Jalen Williams doesn't pass the eye test

[Saints14]

The advanced stats still love him in the postseason. 4.9 BPM, which is higher than he was in the regular season. 3.5 A/TOV ratio and over 2 stocks/game are great numbers. Really it's his scoring efficiency that's been weak, and while I haven't caught every Thunder game it seems like he's been doing most of his work in transition (which in fairness, has still been a major part of OKCs success in the playoffs). OKC could still use a better secondary creator in the halfcourt, and maybe Jalen can still grow into that but I think they'll benefit from Topic joining the team next year as well. But as an all around player J Dub is still an all star

[bbms]

The advanced stats still love him in the postseason. 4.9 BPM, which is higher than he was in the regular season. 3.5 A/TOV ratio and over 2 stocks/game are great numbers. Really it's his scoring efficiency that's been weak, and while I haven't caught every Thunder game it seems like he's been doing most of his work in transition (which in fairness, has still been a major part of OKCs success in the playoffs). OKC could still use a better secondary creator in the halfcourt, and maybe Jalen can still grow into that but I think they'll benefit from Topic joining the team next year as well. But as an all around player J Dub is still an all star

topic is my hope too

jdub's processing is not natural at all, i think he handles some of the worst offensive possessions by the thunder. some sub-optmal iq

he'll get better, he's already a decent efficiency volume scorer. when giddey handled possessions for him, he was a 60% ts player, i hope topic has the same impact

[The Big O]

He's more suited to be a high-end role player. Doesn't really have the athleticism/body type to be a guy who can beat you consistently.

[The Big O]

Guy is absolute trash. Doesn’t even have an nba players body

I've seen you say this a few times now. Can you explain what you mean? A jacked 6'5" dude with a 7'2" wingspan doesn't have an nba players body?

He's not jacked at all. I think the poster is referring to the fact that he doesn't look impressive physically compared to your typical NBA wings.

[cupcakesnake]

Guy is absolute trash. Doesn’t even have an nba players body

I've seen you say this a few times now. Can you explain what you mean? A jacked 6'5" dude with a 7'2" wingspan doesn't have an nba players body?

He's not jacked at all. I think the poster is referring to the fact that he doesn't look impressive physically compared to your typical NBA wings.

We talking about the same guy?
He does have a sort of unique build with his short, thick neck, I guess. This dude is hella long and thick, and is regularly top 40 in dunks. He lacks a bursty first step but I'm just not sure what anyone is really complaining about here. Guy is not MJ, Wade, or Ant, but he's a solidly athletic wing.

[The Servant]

Guy is absolute trash. Doesn’t even have an nba players body

6'5 with a 7'2 wingspan. Sounds exactly like an NBA players body with that height and length.

[Bergmaniac]

Spome of you got to be trolling. JDub of all players "not having an NBA body" and "Not jacked at all", LMAO. I guess he's able to guard PFs regularly only with his mental superpowers.

[jowglenn]

I agree he does not rise to the level some people want to put him at. I think he's highly unlikely to ever be a top 10 player. He'll make some all-star teams but it's mainly due to his team being so good. He seems to me to be on the level of a Luol Deng or a Danny Granger or someone like that

[Woodsanity]

His efficiency took a big hit in the playoffs.

Still putting up very good numbers though.

BPM: 4.9, PER: 19.

Still only 23-24 lots of room to improve.

[MoneyTalks41890]

Spome of you got to be trolling. JDub of all players "not having an NBA body" and "Not jacked at all", LMAO. I guess he's able to guard PFs regularly only with his mental superpowers.

Yeah he’s 6’6” in shoes with a 7’2” wingspan and he’s very strong. He doesn’t have blow you away athleticism, but yeah

[cupcakesnake]

I agree he does not rise to the level some people want to put him at. I think he's highly unlikely to ever be a top 10 player. He'll make some all-star teams but it's mainly due to his team being so good. He seems to me to be on the level of a Luol Deng or a Danny Granger or someone like that

Seems to me he's clearly already eclipsed Granger or Deng. He made an all-NBA team, something neither of those guys did.

Granger was a 1-time all-star, who probably would have made more had he stayed healthy. He was a better scorer than J.Dub is now, mostly on the back of a far superior. jumper, which opened up his driving game nicely. J.Dub is a much better playmaker/passer. The big gap here though is defensively. Granger was a solid defender, J.Dub is one of the best defenders in the NBA.

Luol Deng, I like slightly more as an overall comparison, but Deng was more of a big bodied athletic force who could get downhill. J.Dub has a lot more game than him. Deng was a very good defender, but I'd still give Dub a significant edge here. J.Dub is better on both ends.

[jowglenn]

Seems to me he's clearly already eclipsed Granger or Deng. He made an all-NBA team, something neither of those guys did.

Yeah but I don't think he's really an All-NBA player, frankly... He's one of those guys who you'll look back at his career and see that he made 2 or 3 all-NBA teams and be like "huh? really?" Like a Vin Baker, Derrick Coleman, Julius Randle... where his impact on the game isn't actually all that memorable

[Woodsanity]

Seems to me he's clearly already eclipsed Granger or Deng. He made an all-NBA team, something neither of those guys did.

Yeah but I don't think he's really an All-NBA player, frankly... He's one of those guys who you'll look back at his career and see that he made 2 or 3 all-NBA teams and be like "huh? really?" Like a Vin Baker, Derrick Coleman, Julius Randle... where his impact on the game isn't actually all that memorable

Except he is an all world defender while those guys can barely guard a garbage can....

[Clyde Frazier]

What is this? The guy passed the eye test before he even stepped foot on an NBA court.

[cupcakesnake]

Seems to me he's clearly already eclipsed Granger or Deng. He made an all-NBA team, something neither of those guys did.

Yeah but I don't think he's really an All-NBA player, frankly... He's one of those guys who you'll look back at his career and see that he made 2 or 3 all-NBA teams and be like "huh? really?" Like a Vin Baker, Derrick Coleman, Julius Randle... where his impact on the game isn't actually all that memorable

Except he is an all world defender while those guys can barely guard a garbage can....

Ya to me a lot of the J.Dub criticism is just fans not understanding defensive value.

He's the opposite of Baker/Coleman/Randle in that those are classic guys who are talented offensive players who's impact on winning was questionable looking back. J.Dub is the opposite. We're not sure how far his scoring game might go, but we know for a fact that he's an absolutely elite defender and a master of the little things.

He's closer to Scottie Pippen than he is Coleman. Not saying he's on Pippen's level at this point, but this is kind of like what Pippen was: a productive but non-resilient scoring threat who dominated on defense and as a playmaker. Scottie was a much much better athlete, to be real about the comp.

[jowglenn]

Ya to me a lot of the J.Dub criticism is just fans not understanding defensive value.

He's the opposite of Baker/Coleman/Randle in that those are classic guys who are talented offensive players who's impact on winning was questionable looking back. J.Dub is the opposite. We're not sure how far his scoring game might go, but we know for a fact that he's an absolutely elite defender and a master of the little things.

He's closer to Scottie Pippen than he is Coleman. Not saying he's on Pippen's level at this point, but this is kind of like what Pippen was: a productive but non-resilient scoring threat who dominated on defense and as a playmaker. Scottie was a much much better athlete, to be real about the comp.

I'm not comparing him to those guys to say they are similar in playing style; I'm saying that their impact on the game, the zeitgeist, stardom are all similar. All those guys I listed made multiple All-NBA teams but nobody remembers them as star players or as ever having a real important impact on the game, and I think the same will be the case for Jalen Williams. The first two guys I mentioned earlier were Luol Deng and Danny Granger; neither made any All-NBA teams but both are more similar to the Jalen Williams archetype as strong defensive minded forwards.

I just think the guy is a bit overrated because he's on a team with the MVP that won a lot of games.

[cupcakesnake]

Ya to me a lot of the J.Dub criticism is just fans not understanding defensive value.

He's the opposite of Baker/Coleman/Randle in that those are classic guys who are talented offensive players who's impact on winning was questionable looking back. J.Dub is the opposite. We're not sure how far his scoring game might go, but we know for a fact that he's an absolutely elite defender and a master of the little things.

He's closer to Scottie Pippen than he is Coleman. Not saying he's on Pippen's level at this point, but this is kind of like what Pippen was: a productive but non-resilient scoring threat who dominated on defense and as a playmaker. Scottie was a much much better athlete, to be real about the comp.

I'm not comparing him to those guys to say they are similar in playing style; I'm saying that their impact on the game, the zeitgeist, stardom are all similar. All those guys I listed made multiple All-NBA teams but nobody remembers them as star players or as ever having a real important impact on the game, and I think the same will be the case for Jalen Williams. The first two guys I mentioned earlier were Luol Deng and Danny Granger; neither made any All-NBA teams but both are more similar to the Jalen Williams archetype as strong defensive minded forwards.

I just think the guy is a bit overrated because he's on a team with the MVP that won a lot of games.

There's a pretty good chance, if J.Dub stays with the Thunder, and the Thunder keep winning, that he's going to be a fixture on the all-NBA and all-defense team for years. I can't tell the future, but there's a strong likelihood of that happening. He's also years away from his prime. A 3rd year player and 23 years old.

Guys who get the fortune of playing on winning teams can get overrated in a way. I'm not sure what we'd think of Klay Thompson or James Worthy had they not played with Curry or Magic. At the same time, J.Dub is the secondary playmaker and defensive heavy lifter on a 68(!) win team. If he wasn't very good, this team probably isn't winning 68 games.

There are reasons OKC is winning a lot of games and it goes beyond just Shai.

You're not really saying what you don't like about his game though. You're just kinda saying 'meh I'm not feelin' it'.

[1993Playoffs]

He’s better than someone like Reaves who gets overrated and shut down in the playoffs

[jowglenn]

You're not really saying what you don't like about his game though. You're just kinda saying 'meh I'm not feelin' it'.

Correct. I am just not feeling it.

[DrModesty]

I think Jalen's big thing right now is he doesn't play offense with serenity while under duress very consistently. This is pretty normal for a young player.

We have seen him play with serenity on offense in the past, when he wasn't being treated as a star player by the other team, or when Giddey was able to help bear the load of creation in non SGA minutes. He was a very high efficiency player for most of his career until the calendar year turned, except for in the Dallas series last season. But serenity is something that often comes with maturity, and the thing that tends to stop it is when something becomes a mental 'bogeyman' for a player.