Jaylin Williams opens up about his relationship with Thunder rookie
Yesterday at 01:39 PM
Oklahoma City Thunder center Jaylin Williams suffered a hamstring injury in training camp, delaying his 2024-25 campaign before making his regular-season debut in a 123-105 win against the Washington Wizards on December 23. With Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein slated to return against the Portland Trail Blazers, Willimas reflected on his time with Oklahoma City rookie Branden Carlson and his progression thus far.
Carlson ascended from spending time with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder's G League affiliate. Then, he signed a 10-day contract before Carlson cracked Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault's rotation. After team practice on Saturday, Jaylin Williams opened up about seeing the rookie's growth over the past few weeks.
"B.C. has been great. I feel like every time he shoots the ball, it's good," Williams said. "It's fun watching him out there. I talked to him a lot throughout my recovery process. We were in a lot of the high [octane] sessions together, competing against each other. So, me and him got close. Our lockers are right next to each other in the locker room. We talk, we talk about different things. Our first conversation was just a joking conversation.
"So, just seeing him out there succeeding, making shots, it's always great to see another teammate, another friend of mine, succeeding out there."
Carlson scored 11 points on 4-of-8 attempts, including 3-for-6 from deep in a 134-114 win against the Cleveland Cavs. Then, he signed a second 10-day contract amidst draining a combined 7-for-13 threes throughout the Thunder's recent four-game stretch. The Thunder can no longer extend Carlson on a third 10-day contract and will have to either sign him for the remainder of the regular season or waive him after February 31.
Branden Carlson agrees to a second 10-day contract
For the first time this season, Thunder rookie Branden Carlson received first-quarter minutes in his breakout performance against the Cavs. After the game, a reporter asked Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault if Branden knew he'd be checking into the game in the opening frame.
"I didn't tell him, no," Daigneault said. "[With] Hartenstein out, that's the first thing. So, that frees up thirty minutes. And then, I give Branden a ton of credit. All the invisible stuff you guys don't see, and most people don't see, high-intensity workouts, the low-minute group, his Blue minutes, the way that he approaches practice, and then, these late-game minutes, when it's a blowout. Across all of those platforms, he plays the same way. And he executes."
Mark Daigneault telling me what led to Branden Carlson earning early first-quarter minutes vs #Cavs: pic.twitter.com/T9k3jrXvUX
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) January 17, 2025
Carlson drained two threes in the opening frame amid a 30-2 Thunder run.
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