Welcome to NBA superstardom, Jalen Williams!
The 24-year-old had a statement game in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s pivotal Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers, scoring 40 points to put the Thunder on the precipice of their first NBA title since they moved to the prairie in 2008. Oklahoma City has a chance to close out the Pacers tonight when Game 6 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Williams’ heroics have raised questions about who should be named Finals MVP if the Thunder go on to win the series. Right now, regular-season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still a -550 favorite, but Williams is listed at +600. If Indiana goes on to win, Pascal Siakam (+1100) is the overwhelming favorite.
Oklahoma City is a six-point favorite to close out the Pacers tonight at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set for 222. Below, I’ve detailed my favorite prop bets centered around J-Dub.
Best Jalen Williams Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jalen Williams 25+ Points (+105)
Williams is due for his fourth straight big scoring performance, given the confidence that he’s playing with. Indiana hasn’t yet figured out that Aaron Nesmith isn’t the answer against him; in 126 partial possessions so far, Williams has torched him for 42 points on 16-for-28 shooting and has baited him into six shooting fouls, taking his elite shooting off the floor. Not only is Williams stronger than Nesmith, he has also managed to outmaneuver him for back-door cuts, as he’s been the league’s fifth-most efficient cutter so far these playoffs, averaging 1.6 points per possession on such plays. With Myles Turner a terrible matchup for Chet Holmgren and Nembhard (somewhat) stymieing Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams doesn’t get requisite attention.
He should continue getting to the line against an undisciplined Pacers unit. So far these playoffs, Indiana has allowed 29.2 trips to the charity stripe per game, 3.4 more than any other team. Part of it has to do with the fact that they’ve faced Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, and Gilgeous-Alexander — four of the premier foul-drawers in the leagues — but getting in foul trouble constantly puts teams on the back foot. Williams is too good of a free-throw shooter — he’s 39-for-47 (83.0%) so far this series — to foul and too good of a finisher not to foul. Either side of the dilemma is a recipe for success.
Jalen Williams First Three Point Field Goal Attempt Result – Made (+135)
With Williams’ slashing ability, there isn’t much reason for him to fire away from deep, and Oklahoma City as a whole hasn’t taken many threes this series. When he does take a triple, then, it tends to be a high-quality one, as 10 of his 19 three-point attempts have come with the nearest defender more than six feet away. He’s made four of them and, overall, has drained his first attempt in two of the five games so far this series. So far this series, the Pacers are allowing the Thunder to shoot 38.2% from beyond the arc, a mark that would’ve ranked third in the league during the regular season.
