Jalen Williams Dubbed X-Factor by 3-Time NBA Champion Ahead of NBA Finals Game 3

Spurs fan favorite and 3-time NBA champion Danny Green believes that Jalen Williams needs to step up and make his mark on the NBA Finals

Jalen Williams Dubbed X-Factor by 3-Time NBA Champion Ahead of NBA Finals Game 3

Danny Green, JDub (Jalen Williams) - Image via FS

Jalen Williams needs to step up and make his mark on the NBA Finals, having not yet had a ‘coming out party’ yet on the biggest stage.

The OKC Thunder go into Game 3 of the Finals feeling a slightly higher level of pressure than they’d like. They have led for over 92 minutes of this series, but the score at the end of the game is all that matters. The 68-14 regular season team is now 13-5 in the postseason, but tied 1-1 in the Finals. They head into Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, aiming to overcome the pressure of being on the road and needing a win.

It can be safely said that the team hasn’t truly reached its highest potential so far. Game 1 was a great defensive display, but the team shot 39.8% from the field. They were much better in Game 2, making 48.8% of their 82 shots. Yet, most of their offense has come via MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – his distribution and shotmaking. Fellow All-Star Jalen Williams hasn’t had a good Finals game yet.

Three-time NBA champion and veteran Danny Green is now on the ESPN panel to analyse the Finals. The former Spurs and Raptors wing was quick to point out how Jalen ‘JDub’ Williams is yet to catch fire.

According to him, Jalen Williams would undoubtedly be the guy to step up and take a big role. Role players tend to shoot much worse in road playoff games, and Green believes Williams has to pick up the slack:

The X-Factor for me is JDub. And I’ve seen a lot from him in the Minnesota series, I think it was Game 4 or 5. He was the guy that answered every basket that Minnesota had. So he’s had a decent first couple of games. He hasn’t had a ‘I’m here’ type of game. So this is his moment, it’s his time in Game 3. I expect him to say ‘Welcome, everybody around the world and OKC fans, I’m JDub, I’m the All-Star you can rely on. I’m here and this is my moment.’

Jalen Williams has had an up-and-down playoff run

Jalen Williams has averaged 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.6 steals across 17 playoff games in 2025. He has shooting splits of 45.5% FG, 32.1% 3P, and 76.9% FT over an average of 35 minutes per game. As Danny Green pointed out, he has been mercurial, and in some ways, the X-factor for OKC. In wins, he averages 21.7 PPG on 49.8% FG. But in their five losses, JDub averages 6.8 PPG on a paltry 32.9% FG.

One of the prime examples of this dichotomy was in Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets. Williams had a notably inefficient shooting night, struggling to convert despite getting to his preferred spots. He had just six points, going 3-16 from the field (18.8%) in 38 minutes of action. Another down game for Williams was Game 1 of the Finals, when he scored 19 points but went 5-14 from the field.

The trends are not very favorable for OKC heading into Game 3. They have lost both their Game 3s in the last two series against Denver and Minnesota. Before Ja Morant’s injury, they also trailed Memphis by over 20 points in the first round. There has to be more consistent offensive output from Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who both are considered worthy of being second options on a Finals team.

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