Four Flat-Out Duds: Just How Good Is Jalen Williams in Round Two?

The Oklahoma City Thunder came into the 2025 playoffs as the league’s feel-good story — a 68-win juggernaut built on youth, chemistry, and a rising superstar in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But after dropping Game 6 on the road to the Denver Nuggets, 107-119, and watching a 3-2 lead evaporate, the conversation has shifted. Not toward Shai. Not toward Chet. It’s all about Jalen Williams — and not in a good way.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Game 6 was a disasterclass from J-Dub. In 38 minutes, he shot 3-of-16 from the field, 0-of-4 from deep, didn’t attempt a single free throw, and finished with just 6 points. Yes, he also had 7 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals — but when your team needs scoring and you’re the clear-cut No. 2 option, 6 points on 16 shots simply doesn’t cut it. Worse yet, he went scoreless in the second half, missing all 8 of his attempts.

Game 6 was the kind of performance that turns fans into skeptics and believers into doubters.

Let’s walk through it.

The Thunder led by 3 at the half. In the third quarter, Denver flipped the switch and ripped off a 32-21 run. Williams played all but three minutes of the quarter and shot 0-of-5. He bricked everything — pull-ups, catch-and-shoots, contested drives. And when the game hung in the balance in the fourth, things went from bad to humiliating.

With 9 minutes left, the Thunder were rallying, cutting an 11-point deficit to 7. J-Dub got a steal and raced out in transition — momentum moment, right? Wrong. Peyton Watson met him at the summit and sent his layup attempt back where it came from.

Five minutes later, same script: Williams gets another steal, open lane ahead. This time, he opts for a dunk. But he misses the dunk. No contact, no foul, just a flat-out whiff.

Then, with 1:35 left and OKC having clawed within 9, he gets a wide-open corner three. Back iron. Denver comes down and buries a jumper. Game over.

Jalen Williams’ Game 6 wasn’t just “off.” It was actively harmful.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth for Thunder fans: this wasn’t an anomaly. It was the fourth time in six games this series that J-Dub underperformed offensively.

Let’s break it down:

Game 1 – OKC blows a fourth-quarter lead and loses at the buzzer to Aaron Gordon. Williams goes 5-of-20 (25%), including 2-of-9 from three. Second half? 2-of-13. Brutal.

Game 4 – Thunder survive and tie the series 2-2. But Williams? 2-of-13 from the field, 0-of-5 from three, 10 points total. After three quarters: 1-of-10 for 2 points.

Game 5 – The Thunder win a critical swing game at home, and J-Dub hits a clutch three after Jokic tied it with a miracle bomb. But zoom out: he finishes 5-of-14 from the field, 2-of-5 from deep. Not efficient. Not consistent.

Across the series, the numbers don’t lie:

Second Round Averages (6 games)

• 16.5 points

• 5.5 rebounds

• 5.8 assists

• 1.5 steals

• 33.7% FG

• 21.2% 3PT

• 45.0% TS%

For a team’s second option in a title push? Those numbers are glaringly underwhelming.

Contrast that with his regular-season production:

• 21.6 points

• 5.3 rebounds

• 5.1 assists

• 48.4% FG

• 36.5% 3PT

• 57.3% TS%

In the first round against Memphis, he was sensational: four straight 20+ point games, 54.2% from the field, and an efficient 59.2% true shooting mark. He looked like a budding star. A playoff riser. A Robin with potential to be Batman someday.

Then came Denver — and the lights got a little brighter, the defense a little tighter, and the decision-making a lot shakier.

Meanwhile, Jamal Murray, who hasn’t made an All-Star Game in his career, has been cooking. Despite being banged up and clearly not 100%, Murray has four 20+ point games in the series and is averaging 22.0 points, including a gutsy 25/8/7 line in Game 6. And he’s doing it with far more shot-making flair and playoff poise than J-Dub has shown.

Look, Williams is only 23 years old. This is just his second postseason run. He’s got time. But this is not a question of experience — it’s a matter of impact. Playoff pressure doesn’t hand out participation trophies. If you’re going to wear the title of second star on a contender, you have to deliver when the lights are hottest.

And the truth is: Williams hasn’t.

Worse yet, he’s been a momentum killer. Think back to Game 6 — every time the Thunder seemed on the verge of a comeback, he bricked a layup, clanked a dunk, or missed a wide-open three. These are the kind of moments that swing playoff games — and playoff narratives.

Now, fair’s fair. This isn’t all on J-Dub. Shai has had quiet stretches, especially late in games. Chet Holmgren’s rim protection has been inconsistent. And coach Mark Daigneault is still learning on the fly in tight series. But for a team that had championship expectations — and for a player fresh off his first All-Star selection — the microscope on Williams is deserved.

All eyes now shift to Game 7. It’ll be the second elimination game of J-Dub’s young career — the first was last year’s Game 6 loss to Dallas. But this time, it’s a winner-take-all, season-on-the-line showdown. And it might be the most defining 48 minutes of his career so far.

No more excuses. No more "he’s still learning." The Thunder need their second option to play like one. The Nuggets are battle-tested and brutal. If Jalen Williams can’t rise to the moment, OKC’s dream season ends in heartbreak.

If he can?

He rewrites his story in real time.

Commentary:
Jalen Williams is walking a tightrope between promise and pressure. He’s got the tools — size, skill, vision, confidence — but in this series, he’s looked like a guy who’s still figuring out how to apply them when the stakes get real. The Thunder aren’t a feel-good upstart anymore; they’re a 68-win machine that demands excellence. And when you share the court with a top-5 MVP candidate like Shai and a unicorn rim protector like Chet, you don’t get to hide.

What J-Dub gives in Game 7 will say more about his trajectory than any All-Star nod or highlight dunk ever could.

Time to see what he’s really made of.