Jalen Williams' Return Could be key to OKC Thunder's Success in the Conference Finals

The Thunder will benefit greatly from one of its stars returning to the floor.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are preparing for the Western Conference Finals, where they will face the winner of the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves. This series has gone back and forth, giving OKC much-needed rest before they have to hit the hardwood once again. Luckily for Oklahoma City, this rest period could be exactly what they need to finally get one of its best players back on the floor.

Thunder guard Jalen Williams has not seen the floor since Game 2 of the opening playoff round. He was sidelined after suffering a left hamstring strain and has been taking his time to get back. Oklahoma City has had no problem getting this far in the postseason without him, but Oklahoma City’s lack of need for Williams could very soon change.

The Spurs and Timberwolves are both teams that are filled with star power, and will no doubt be tougher competition than the Thunder’s first two rounds. This increases the need for the return of Williams, who was showing out before he was injured.

He was averaging 20.5 points per game as well as five assists and four rebounds. The star guard was doing this efficiently as well, shooting 61.5% from the field. This is still only the beginning of Williams potential, as last year he came up in big moments for OKC during the playoffs.

This included a critical Western Conference Finals Game 4 win, where Williams had 34 points, and a masterclass of 40 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Other Thunder players have stepped up in Williams’s absence, but OKC will need the real product when the going gets tough.

Ajay Mitchell has done fantastically filling in for Williams in the starting lineup, and with the return of Williams, this might benefit Oklahoma City greatly. The Spurs are currently the frontrunner to face OKC in the conference finals as they lead the series 3-2, and their lineup presents the Thunder with the ability to put a dominant starting five on the floor.

San Antonio starts a smaller lineup with Victor Wembanyama being the only true big. This caused Oklahoma City to sit Isaiah Hartenstein to start a game back in January against the Spurs. Now, if Williams returns, and the way Mitchell has been playing, we could see a starting lineup that features both of them.

The Thunder’s dreams of repeating as NBA Champions are getting more realistic by the day, but to accomplish it, Oklahoma City will need its best players on the court, and that includes Williams.

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