Jalen Williams recalls when Klay Thompson handed him 'Welcome to NBA' moment

Entering the NBA, every player has a few humility moments that stick with them for the rest of their careers. After all, going from high school and college to the professional league is an adjustment that takes time to get used to. Most players take time to adjust from being a big fish in a small pond to swimming in the ocean.

After enjoying his championship, Jalen Williams reflected on his rookie journey that featured a few 'Welcome to the NBA' moments. The 24-year-old recently appeared on the "Out The Mud" podcast with Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.

While Williams' stories about Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant cooking him one-on-one stole the headlines, another one flew under the radar. He mentioned how Klay Thompson's unreal outside shot-making also had him speechless despite playing stellar defense.

"Klay, I was playing good defense on him the whole night. He hit one behind the backboard," Williams said. "As it's going in, he slapped me in my butt, 'Good try, rook.'"

There are a few games that could be the culprit. Thompson had three awesome scoring outings against the Thunder in the 2022-23 regular season. The biggest was a 42-point outburst in a Feb. 2023 blowout win for the Golden State Warriors. He shot 12-of-16 from 3 that game.

There are worse ways to learn how difficult the NBA is. To see Thompson go supernova must've simultaneously been a frustrating and surreal moment for the rookie Williams. After all, the four-time NBA champion is one of the greatest outside shooters in league history and helped the Warriors become a dynasty.

Ascending into one of the NBA's best players, Williams can look back at the moment through nostalgic glasses. He had a breakout season last year, which saw him become a first-time All-Star, All-NBA player and All-Defense Team member.

Jalen Williams reflects on his rookie season:

"We played the Clippers, we beat them. Kawhi had a horrible game... But we played a back-to-back. He started the game 9-of-9 on me... Mark was like, 'He's busting your ass Jalen, you need to switch?'"

(via @OutTheMudTL) pic.twitter.com/KA8cusStmQ

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) August 28, 2025

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jalen Williams on when Klay Thompson gave him 'Welcome to NBA' moment