Are Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams related? What to know about Thunder rookies who share same last name

Scott Rafferty

Are Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams related? What to know about Thunder rookies who share same last name image

If you've watched a Thunder game during the 2022-23 NBA season, then you've probably heard a conversation about how calling their games is a broadcaster's worst nightmare.

Why? The Thunder have two players in the rotation who share the same name.

One is Jalen Williams, a wing from Santa Clara who has proven himself to be one of the best players in his draft class. The other is Jaylin Williams, a big man from Arkansas who looks like one of the biggest steals of his draft class.

Which Williams is better? And are they related? Here's everything you need to know about OKC's rookies.

MORE: Ranking the NBA's best 30 players entering the playoffs

Which one is Jalen Williams? And which one is Jaylin Williams?

Let's make this easy.

This is Jalen Williams.

Jalen Williams
(Getty Images)

And this is Jaylin Williams.

Jaylin Williams
(Getty Images)

Got it? Great!

Is Jalen Williams or Jaylin Williams better?

If sharing the same name wasn't enough, Jalen and Jaylin were both selected in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The Thunder drafted Jalen in the lottery with the No. 12 pick. They then selected Jaylin in the second round with the 34th overall pick.

As you can imagine, Twitter had jokes when the Thunder drafted both of them.

Jalen and Jaylin started the season coming off Oklahoma City's bench, but they both became full-time starters around the end of 2022. While they each played a key role in the Thunder making the Play-In Tournament, Jalen is the one who finds himself in the Rookie of the Year conversation.

Here's how they stack up statistically:

Jalen vs. Jaylin stats (2022-23 season)
Player MP PTS TRB AST STL BLK FG% 3P% FT%
Jalen Williams 30.3 14.1 4.5 3.3 1.4 0.5 52.1 35.6 81.2
Jaylin Williams 18.7 5.9 4.9 1.6 0.6 0.2 43.6 40.7 70.4

The Thunder have used Jalen in a number of ways this season, but he's primarily a wing, standing at 6-5 and 211 pounds.

Jaylin spends a lot of time on the perimeter himself — almost half of his shot attempts have come from the 3-point line — but he's more of a big. He's listed at 6-9 and 240 pounds.

Are Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams related?

They share the same last name, but Jalen and Jaylin Williams are not related.

To avoid confusion, their Thunder teammates call Jalen "J-Dub" and Jaylin "Jay Will."

Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.