By Nick Gallo | Broadcast and Digital Editor | okcthunder.com
New Thunder rookies Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams celebrated being drafted by the Thunder live on national television, were swooped up by NBA personnel and whisked through countless interviews and photo shoots inside Barclays Center on Thursday night. They popped up the next morning after a short night of sleep and flew from New York City to Oklahoma City.
The fourth member of the 2022 Thunder rookie class had a much different last 48 hours. Jaylin Williams, who the Thunder selected 34th overall, held his draft party in his hometown of Fort Smith, Arkansas. After originally inviting only 90 folks, the crowd magically turned into 200. After the draft, a video surfaced on an effusive Jaylin Williams (heretofore known as JayWill in Thunder circles), holding a microphone at that event and gushing about his family, friends and coaches who helped him along the way.
“It was an emotional night,” said Jaylin Williams. “We had a lot of people there, and just sharing that moment, that energy, everything that was in the room with my family, it was something I'll never forget.”
As the trio of Thunder lottery picks crossed the country by air on Friday, JayWill crossed the Arkansas-Oklahoma border by car. He got a workout in with his draft classmates and got settled in time for Saturday afternoon’s introductory press conference at the brand-new Clara Luper Center for Educational Services, a sparkling facility in downtown Oklahoma City. Alongside the four players was Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti, who gushed about the character of the four young men sitting to his right.
“This is a culmination of a real journey for each one of these individuals,” said Presti. “Every single one of them has gotten here on a different path. Each one of those paths has been unique, and every one of them has not been a steady rise or steady climb. There's been adversity for every single individual here.”
Presti complimented each of the incoming rookies on their cognitive traits and decision-making on the floor while also pointing out that the Thunder is at its best when playing in more rhythms than patterns and that each of the four players are instinctual, rhythmic players. He then also shared an anecdote about each young man.
The Thunder’s highest selection since 2009, Chet Holmgren, came to the Thunder as the number two overall pick in 2022 – a highly-touted prospect out of Gonzaga who averaged nearly four blocked shots per game, shot 40 percent from 3-point range and showed tenacity as a rebounder and fluidity as a ball-handler at 7-feet tall. Most impressive for Presti, however, was to witness Holmgren’s maturation from high school to Team USA to Gonzaga and the way he impacted winning and how he humbly meshed with all of his teammates off the court.
“(Holmgren) was ‘one of the guys’, except for when the game started and then he let his talent speak,” said Presti. “His ability to play within a team framework but still be exceptionally talented and see how that actually can be thrown into the team to boost its high-end performance is really unique.”
As for the 11th selection in the draft, Dieng, a 19-year-old 6-foot-10 forward from France, Presti remarked on the courageous decisions he’s made throughout his life: to leave home at age 13 to play for a French club and then again to traverse the world to play last year for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL, where he surged in the second half of the season with versatile playmaking and defending.
“I was really fascinated by that decision because I think the easiest decision would have been to stay in a comfort zone,” said Presti. “(Dieng) pushed himself out of that, and it wasn't always the easiest situation for him. But we know some people, teammates that he had, and they just spoke glowingly about his work ethic.”
One pick later, at 12, came Jalen Williams (to be known as JDub from now on in Thunder nation), a junior forward from Santa Clara. JDub has always burst through ceilings, like his massive growth spurts in high school and even into college, then again as he transformed himself into a player who averaged 18 points, four rebounds and four assists while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range in his final college season. Then in the pre-draft process, he surged again.
“Our eyes really opened to (Jalen Williams) later in this process,” said Presti. “I wish I could tell you that last year at Santa Clara we were like, ‘this guy is going to be a lottery pick’. That wasn't the case. But he just beat the door down with the way he approaches the game.”
Sitting on the far end from Presti was Jaylin Williams, the man who had the shortest commute to his new workplace. A 6-foot-10 bruiser from Arkansas, JayWill provides toughness, physicality and a motor, but combines it with an innate ability to keep the offense moving from the top of the key, the quickness to attack closeouts and a knack for taking charges. He averaged close to a double-double as a sophomore and was a big factor in Arkansas knocking off Holmgren’s top-seeded Gonzaga squad in the NCAA tournament.
“(Jaylin Williams) is a guy that makes teams function, and he has big-time passion to play, and he's physical,” said Presti. “People are going to enjoy playing with him because of the things he brings to the table. It's all about the collective for him.”
While draft press conference day is an apex of sorts as these players concluded one part of their basketball journeys, it’s merely the starting line for their lives as NBA professionals. The road will be twisting and challenging, but the perseverance each young man has shown thus far is what gives the Thunder confidence they can do it at the world’s highest level.
“The people that have calm endurance through that process are more rare than people that are just talented,” said Presti. “So as talented as these individuals are, the success that we're going to achieve and they're going to achieve individually will be based on their ability to endure what's really hard about the NBA, which is that it's a lot of adversity, there's a lot of demands, there's a lot of sacrifices.”
“When you draft someone, what you're essentially saying is you believe in them, and we believe in all of these guys,” Presti added. “I couldn't be more proud of the human beings that are going to be wearing our jersey.”
After the press conference, the four players participated in an educational event detailing the life and legacy of Clara Luper, while Luper’s Marilyn daughter looked on as one of four Community Draft Picks in attendance on Saturday. The quartet then changed into their jerseys, took part in a photoshoot and then stepped into the afternoon sun for a bit to interact with some local kids who were playing basketball and participating in Thunder activations.
Now, they’ll have a few days to get acclimated to Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization before training for Summer League, which starts next week out in Salt Lake City and then Las Vegas. There’s a ton to look forward to in their careers, but it all starts with putting in the effort each day, something each of these draft selections feels very comfortable doing.
“First and foremost, getting to work, and then lacing up and playing with these guys,” said Holmgren. “This is where I want to be. This is a great organization, great city, great fan base.”