The OKC Thunder are moving into the championship round of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup after a comfortable victory over the Houston Rockets last Saturday.

Although the victory ultimately proved to be a complete team effort, several players throughout the 48-minute exhibition proved invaluable in helping lead Oklahoma City’s path to tournament advancement.

One of those players was third-year forward Jalen Williams, who scored 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in 39 minutes of play while shooting 40.0 percent from distance.

While certainly a great performance, J-Dub’s performance against Houston was essentially just a regular season game for those familiar with the 2024-25 Thunder team.

For this reason, and the fact that Oklahoma City has punched its ticket to the title round thanks to his prolific work, Chet Holmgren, fellow 2022 NBA Draft pick and currently sidelined franchise cornerstone, saw this time in the national spotlight as the perfect opportunity , voicing his opinion support on social media for the forward to be selected for this year’s All-Star Game.

Chet Holmgren supports Thunder forward Jalen Williams’ All-Star bid

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– Chet Holmgren (@ChetHolmgren) December 15, 2024

Although one could certainly argue that Williams had his breakthrough last season when he averaged 19.1 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds at the top seed in the Western Conference, his play so far in the new season has proven that There are even higher levels to the youngster’s game and in 25 games played he has progressed significantly further.

In 32.1 minutes per night, he posted a career-high 21.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2.0 steals and just under one block while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 38. Shoots 5 percent from distance.

Those numbers alone should ensure he’s selected for the star-studded exhibition in San Francisco next February. What should really underpin his claim to compete, however, is his ability to make an impact in virtually every area of ​​the floor. .. and at every position.

Not only was Williams a dominant all-around player on both sides of the ball, he was also used out of sheer necessity in many obscure spots within coach Mark Daigneault’s rotation, with his most noticeable position being the center position.

Despite being 6’5″ tall and having both the build and playing style of a traditional three-man team, he excels at playing the one through the five and is arguably the main reason the Thunder have the No. 1 pick -Team of the World are Western Conference with a record of 20-5.

Honestly, his recent performance against Houston was just a taste of what Jalen Williams has accomplished so far this year, and for Chet Holmgren, his performance should end up earning him a trip to this year’s All-Star Game.