Fresh off some career performances, Thunder rookie Jalen Williams has moved up to sixth on the NBA’s official rookie ladder.
Williams has seen an increased workload for Oklahoma City of late, taking on more of the primary and secondary creative responsibilities in the recent slate.
With that, he’s seen a jump in productivity, averaging 16.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game since the last ladder.
On the season, Williams is now averaging 10.6 points while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor.
Even more impressively, Williams almost nightly wins the task of guarding one of the opposition’s two best players (see Ja Morant on Wednesday night), usually the taller of the two. He’s just 6-foot-6, but with a 7-foot wingspan he’s held his own on many occasions.
In the rookie ladder, Williams is flanked by Sacramento’s Keegan Murray and Houston’s Tari Eason, both of which have had respectable starts to their season. Paolo Banchero, Benedict Mathurin, Jaden Ivey and Jabari Smith Jr. including the top four.
Selected twelfth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, Williams has perhaps surpassed his expectations more than anyone else in the class.
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