Jalen Williams was recently regarded as the Oklahoma City Thunder's best young up-and-comer, according to ESPN insiders.

Thunder forward Jalen Williams will not return to Wednesday's game against the Warriors after suffering a right eye injury in the second quarter.

So Williams’ 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting mattered, more specifically his fourth-quarter rampage. But his effort, uncommon for a young player fresh off the unrecognizable performance he’d had in Orlando, pushed OKC over the top.

Coming into the season, the Thunder had a clear ‘Big Three’ on the roster, and it matched up favorably against most in the NBA. Obviously Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is at the top, but Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are rising stars that have taken the team to a new level.

Williams is both a fan favorite and a locker room favorite. His return provided a nice morale boost for OKC. Let's look at what Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams had to say about it:

The Oklahoma City Thunder saw a key player in Jaylin Williams return from injury against the Washington Wizards on Monday. How did he play?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has firmly established himself as an MVP candidate, but whether he has a true co-star remains unclear. Jalen Williams has shown brilliant flashes but fell short in critical moments last season, averaging 17 points on only 50.8% true shooting in Oklahoma City’s second-round loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

After missing the first quarter of the 2024-25 campaign, Oklahoma City center Jaylin Williams received a massive round of applause from the Paycom Center crowd in his return to action.