The Oklahoma City Thunder finds itself trailing the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals after a clutch-time Game 1 thriller on Thursday night. All-NBA forward Jalen Williams gave Oklahoma City a game-high 15-point lead with a breakaway dunk early in the fourth quarter — but scored 11 points on his other 18 shots from the floor.

With the entire sports world's attention on the 2025 NBA Finals, Jalen Williams has come a long way over the last four years from small-school Santa Clara, which likely only had a couple thousand people in the stands,

They have carved out huge roles on our team — they are a huge reason why we're here,” Daigneault said. “They are in an uncommon position."