Jalen Williams

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s third and final lottery pick selected in the 2022 draft was easily the most impactful. Taken with the 12th pick, Jalen Williams averaged 14.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals across 75 games while shooting better than 52 percent from the field — earning himself a runner-up finish in Rookie of the Year voting. Williams was the fifth Oklahoma City player to be named to an All-Rookie team and joined Russell Westbrook as the only other to make the First Team while helping the upstart to 40 wins and a spot in the play-in tournament. Williams led all rookies in steals and placed fourth in points, assists and field-goal percentage and was twice named Western Conference Rookie of the Month, becoming the third Thunder player to earn that honor multiple times. He scored 20-plus points 17 times and posted two 30-point games, including a season-high 32-point performance on 12 of 15 shooting on March 5. The versatile 6-foot-6 forward scored at least 15 points in 10 straight games — the second-longest streak by a rookie in 2022-23 — and tallied double-digit points in 15 of his final 18 games. Williams also joined Westbrook and Kevin Durant as the only Thunder rookies to post three or more games with at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Rookie Year

Rookie Mint