Jalen Williams has been unstoppable in the NBA Finals. Here’s how he developed his moves

Patrick “Packie” Turner had seen enough.

He has trained Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu. He knows what a great shot-maker looks like. It’s why Jalen Williams’ agents, William Morris Endeavor’s Bill Duffy and Justin Haynes, wanted him in for workouts leading up to the 2022 NBA Draft.

At the time, Williams wasn’t projected to be a first-round pick. He played well in his junior season at Santa Clara before declaring for the draft but didn’t stand out enough on the national stage to garner much interest. The NBA and NCAA had changed draft-eligibility rules the prior year, allowing players to declare for the draft to gauge their value and still go back to school by June 1. Williams and his representatives thought he was worthy of the first round, but it wasn’t looking pretty early on.

But as soon as Turner got on the court with Williams, he was a believer.

“I just walked up (to Duffy and Haynes) five minutes into the workout (and said), ‘He is not going back to school. He’s going lotto,’” Turner told The Athletic in a phone interview Wednesday. “I told them, day one, he isn’t going back.”

This was a month before Williams starred at the May NBA Draft Combine and scouts started whispering he could end up a lottery pick, as Turner predicted. Oklahoma City Thunder president Sam Presti confirmed Turner’s declaration on draft night, selecting Williams 12th overall in a move that accelerated the Thunder’s path to a potential NBA title.

It’s rare a wing is this complete a player in his third NBA season and even rarer for them to evolve into a two-way playmaking force taking over the NBA Finals. But from the moment Turner got in the gym with Williams, he saw something special about the now-24-year-old’s balance, creativity and length that allowed him to finish from anywhere.

After Williams took over with 40 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to put the Thunder up 3-2 on the Indiana Pacers, the rest of the NBA is a believer, too.

“I think the world needs to accept that he is a generational talent,” Turner said, “given his mindset, love for the work, his ability to process, etc. How can you put a cap on it?”

Williams has spent offseasons working with Turner to craft the wide variety of ways he scored in the Thunder’s 120-109 Game 5 win. They spent his rookie season honing off-beat finishing moves, using Williams’ low center of gravity and wingspan to build up an arsenal of shots that are off-balanced or even reckless for most players.

Workouts start with touch-focused drills to develop Williams’ ability to pick up his dribble with one hand and not have to return it to his body to secure it in his grip. That allows him to maintain his posture, and therefore his speed, to create tight driving angles.

From there, Williams is better able to focus on getting off a clean release. Most people need to jump off the opposite foot of their shooting hand on layups to maintain balance and core strength. Williams, on the other hand, is ambidextrous and footwork-agnostic on his drives.

“You’re looking at a lefty, basically, around the basket,” Turner said of the right-handed Williams. “His rookie year, everything was basically off one (foot) in this fashion. His touch around the basket is insane because of his focus on it.”

Williams can attempt layups with unpredictable timing and angling, making it hard for defenders to figure out how to contest his shots. That was on display in the following Game 5 drive. Pacers 7-foot center Tony Bradley guarded Williams like he was anticipating an extra step toward the rim, but Williams rendered his shot contest futile by going off the same foot as his release hand.

Watch how Williams is able to pick up the dribble with his left hand, briefly shield the ball with the other hand without losing momentum and then keep his eyes on the rim until he gets to his shot.

Mastering the awkwardly timed finishes makes up for Williams’ average leaping ability. In a league in which defenses are constantly closing out hard on shooters and switching to stay in front of drivers, ground-bound athleticism is becoming more important. The last two league MVPs — Nikola Jokić and Williams’ teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — possess remarkable balance and agility, enabling them to create and maintain advantages while still slowing down to exhibit patience and touch on their drives.

This is also Williams’ forte. In the finals, when defenders are more physical in bumping drivers off their spot, Williams has used his ground-bound athleticism to find ways to keep going and create openings. It’s how he was able to continue a crunchtime step-through move to get to another one of his slowed-down pull-ups.

“This is his true development this year,” Turner said. “Our offseason was built around developing options and feel to get to anything when going (to his) right. Embracing he is strong and can use that shoulder to create space. It’s an awkward gather, but again, he’s at his pace; hence, his control and ability to get it off.”

That development has not always been smooth. Williams had moments when he looked like a third-year player earlier in the postseason, throwing up bricks on his floaters and looking out of rhythm. But the Thunder need him to be aggressive hunting his shots, as he and Gilgeous-Alexander are the only creators in the starting lineup. That trust has proven effective time after time during the Thunder’s playoff run, especially in this series.

“I’m extremely fortunate that I have a coach and a staff and teammates that allow me to have those ugly plays during the year and figure out my game,” Williams told reporters after Game 5. “I think right now it’s paid off, to be honest. Just like, I understand the level of physicality I have to do in order to be good.”

Now, the Thunder’s two stars can take turns running point, attacking different coverages in their nuanced ways. Gilgeous-Alexander has developed a deep bag of hesitations, pull-ups and layups to make him effectively unstoppable. Williams has a long way to go to reach his teammates’ level, but he brings other unique qualities to the table on his drives. The franchise’s trust in its star perimeter duo, as well as the rest of its group, has it on the verge of winning a championship even with so many of its players still early in their development.

“I’m just blessed to be in a situation where everybody wants everybody to succeed. It’s such a rare thing,” Williams said. “I’m just in a really, really good situation that’s allowed me to grow as a player at a more rapid rate because I’m not worried about, ‘What if I fail?’ I know I have guys that pick me up when I fall short; I try and do the same thing for them.”

Williams’ rise to star status has been surprisingly swift. He has proved the league will have to adapt to his game rather than the other way around. As rare as it is to average more than 20 points and five assists in his third season as a second option, the trainer who saw what he can do from day one thinks this is just the start.

“He’s gifted, man. I swear to you, (he’s) nowhere near his ceiling,” Turner said. “Could this be it? Sure. But I don’t see him stopping.”

(Photo: Kyle Terada / Imagn Images)