“The last minute and a half of the game didn’t feel like I was there anymore.” Jalen Williams couldn’t believe it. For the first time, Oklahoma is a city of NBA champions! After a season where they had the best record in the league, they were able to follow it up with a title. Oh, and they also became the youngest team to win the Larry O’Brien trophy since 1977! For Jalen Williams and the young Thunder squad, many will certainly wonder about the secret behind their success. For JDub, the answer can be encapsulated in just two words: ‘Confidence’ and ‘Knowledge’.
In the aftermath of Game 7, Jalen Williams participated in a Q&A session with SportsCenter’s Scott Van Pelt. During the conversation, Van Pelt questioned the NBA champion about the secret to staying grounded and humble during big moments, and then confident in the down moments. Williams revealed that he and his teammates did not choose to carry much from the regular season, except confidence. At the same time, the scores they recorded in the regular season helped form a framework, which they always went back to when that confidence needed a boost.
“We kind of looked at like our biggest games. During the season, we were like, ‘Okay, this is what it takes to win.’ We tried to treat those really like playoff games,” Williams revealed. “So, we did a really good job with that. And then, just like from a confidence standpoint, I think the hardest thing to do is when you’re not playing well, or when you’re down about your game, is to still have confidence that you’re an elite player.”
Williams highlighted that the team looked at their biggest games the same way we do: YouTube Highlights. When Van Pelt asked if even a player like him has to do that, he replied, “Yeah, I mean, you know, everybody goes through moments, especially on this stage. You always are questioning if you’re good enough. And I think I’ve got to a point where, when I question that, I kind of lean into it a little more.” Van Pelt countered by reminding Williams that he had a 40-piece in the Finals! To this, Williams replied, “And then I was negative-40 the next game.”
Thunder star Jalen Williams admits he watches YouTube highlights of himself to help his confidence.
JW: “You always are questioning if you’re good enough…”
SVP: “You had a 40-piece in the Finals!”
JW: “Yeah, and then I was negative-40 the next game.” #NBA pic.twitter.com/IJYBj2R8fD
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 23, 2025
‘Confidence’ and ‘Game Footage’ helped the team throughout the season, especially during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Several OKC fans would have certainly been shaken after Game 1, when the Indiana Pacers recovered from a 15-point deficit in the 4th quarter to win it. After the loss, Coach Daigneault promised the team would be watching tape from the game and carefully assessing what they could do to improve. As for the emotional state in the locker room, he revealed that “I mean, we have confidence and wisdom because of the situations we’ve been in over time. There’s no team more confident in being ready to play in any situation than ours — biased, obviously.” Lo and behold, not only did the Thunder win, but they won 123-107, a 16-point margin.
For Jalen Williams, ‘confidence’ was also the weapon that especially needed to be used against players like Tyrese Haliburton. After all, in his eyes, the Pacers point guard himself uses ‘confidence’ as a motivation drive, since “To be able to play as well as he’s been playing through a lot of the overrated stuff, and for him to be able to play through that, you’ve got to tip your hat to him for that.” The small forward must have figured out that ‘two can play at this game’.
Therefore, he adopted that ‘confidence’ within himself too, which allowed him to average 23.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the NBA Finals. Williams even felt the need to be ‘confident’ enough to even defy his team’s GM’s request.
Jalen Williams revealed taking a drink despite Sam Presti’s ‘not old enough’ jab
During the post-game presser, a reporter highlighted to Jalen Williams how, just 24 hours before this moment, he had revealed he won’t be able to appreciate the moment fully unless he gets his desired outcome. Now that he has it, the reporter wanted to know whether he is able to process this victory fully. Williams replied “Nope” in a way that caused many reporters to laugh. Despite that, he was still able to celebrate in the appropriate manner of an NBA champion.
“I actually just had my first drink. So, I’m like working on that,” Williams revealed. “Um, I think in a couple of days, I’ll be able to like come back down to earth a little bit. But right now, I’m just trying to enjoy the moment.”
No NBA championship, for the last few decades, has been christened without the traditional spraying of champagne. The players even carry special goggles to protect their eyes. However, as Thunder GM, Sam Presti reportedly joked to Rachel Nichols, “They’re not old enough to drink”. This was, of course, a quip at the fact that only one player on the squad, Alex Caruso, was above 30, while the majority were 25 years old or less.
Their age was certainly showing when the players were having trouble popping the corks! “None of us knew how to do it,” said Isaiah Hartenstein. People were going on YouTube in search of tutorials. Despite that, once the champagne flowed, the 24-year-old Jalen Williams didn’t mind indulging in the drink.
OKC Thunder’s success now makes people wonder what the next step is for them. Fortunately, the players, including Jalen Williams, won’t have to answer that for a while. They have earned a well-deserved break.
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