Could Jalen Williams have another breakout season in 2024-25?

Could Jalen Williams have another breakout season in 2024-25?

There has been a lot of hype surrounding the Oklahoma City Thunder heading into the 2024-25 season, and rightfully so.

They completely surpassed any preseason expectation last year, finishing with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference at 57-25. Oklahoma City got bounced in the Western Conference semifinals to No. 4 Dallas, the eventual Western Conference champ. Though last year was a mere swig of a team with an incredibly bright future, especially after they added all-worldly defender Alex Caruso , Isaiah Hartenstein and European sensation Nikola Topic (who won’t play this season , unfortunately) this summer.

One of those breakout stars was Jalen Williams , nicknamed “J-Dub,” the team’s second-leading scorer who’s developed into a two-way phenomenon (did you buy stock ?). The 23-year-old guard averaged 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals, shooting 54.0 percent from the floor, 42.7 percent from 3-point range and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line.

After finishing fourth in Most Improved Player voting a year ago, the budding star is poised for another breakout, according to league executives. In the recently published NBA GM survey, Williams was polled as the most likely player to breakout season in 2024-25, earning 13 percent of the 30 votes (4). Among those who received votes were Evan Mobley , Ja Morant , Victor Wembanyama , Paolo Banchero , Cade Cunningham and second-year forward Brandon Miller .

Even with Oklahoma City’s new addition, it’s easy to foresee another breakout from Williams. He will be one of the best defenders on what could be the NBA’s top defense with Caruso, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren . He could continue his ascension as a secondary shot creator alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, where he will conceivably get more usage without Josh Giddey in the fold.

He’s a phenomenal shot-maker, sensational cutter, great (play) finisher, improved playmaker and a very good multi-positional defender. Williams is quite literally the jack of all trades, even if he doesn’t garner the notoriety that Gilgeous-Alexander rightfully does. It’s difficult to pinpoint who the most likely breakout player will be, but Williams certainly deserves to be in the conversation.

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The post Could Jalen Williams have another breakout season in 2024-25? appeared first on Vendetta Sports Media .