Jalen Williams

68 regular-season wins and back-to-back No. 1 seeds wasn’t enough to drown out the doubts of some, in regards to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s firepower against more experienced foes come springtime. For Jalen Williams and his well-rested teammates, that seemingly made Game One’s plan of attack quite simple: bring the crowd to such a level of celebration that critics couldn’t even be heard. Knowing multiple ways to fulfill the task, Williams begins with a heads-up telegraph of Desmond Bane’s pass, jumpstarting Oklahoma City’s trademark points-off-turnovers approach. Wisely unbalancing the Memphis Grizzlies’ transition defense with a skip-ahead pass, Williams gets rewarded with a lob pass back in his direction before promptly powering home an alley-oop flush. Tea leaves could be read, in terms of Williams’ elevation, given his increased scoring totals with the postseason approaching. During a 51-point blowout — the largest Game One win in the NBA’s postseason history — such brilliance encouraged a 20-point, five-rebound, six-assist, three-steal, one-block contribution, and a +44 plus-minus.

Championship Year