During the championship playoffs, Williams played in 17 of the Oklahoma City Thunder's (OKC) 22 games. He averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 0.5 steals per game.
The 6'9" forward was a key reserve player on the young and talented team led by point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the 2024-2025 NBA Most Valuable Player (26), along with Jalen Williams (24), Chet Holmgren (23), Luguentz Dort (26), Cason Wallace (21), and veteran Alex Caruso (31).
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Jaylin lifts the Larry O'Brien trophy after winning the 2024-2025 NBA Championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Photo: NBA |
Jaylin lifts the Larry O'Brien trophy after winning the 2024-2025 NBA Championship with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Photo: NBA
Williams was born and raised in Arkansas and played for the University of Arkansas. After a breakout 2021/2022 season, he gained NBA attention and was selected by OKC with the 34th pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft. The forward, born in 2002, became the first player of Vietnamese descent to play in the NBA, reach the NBA Finals, and win a championship.
According to Joysauce, Williams's grandmother, Nga, moved from Ho Chi Minh City to the US in 1975 when his mother, Linda, was 4. Linda emphasized her pride in her son's heritage when he entered the NBA.
"We never thought Jaylin would have a career like this," Linda told *The Oklahoman* in 2023. "Being the first player of Vietnamese descent to play in the NBA is special for our family, for Jaylin."
In the same article, Williams said he received support from the Vietnamese community in the US. "If you see fans wearing my jersey at the game, most of them are Vietnamese. It's great," he said.
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Jaylin (center) with his mother, Linda (left), and father, Mike (right), after being selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 34th pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft. Photo: NBA |
Jaylin (center) with his mother, Linda (left), and father, Mike (right), after being selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 34th pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft. Photo: NBA
The 23-year-old forward has expressed his desire to visit Vietnam to meet fans and learn about the culture, as well as learn more Vietnamese. Pho is his favorite dish, and he enjoys hearing stories about Vietnam from his mother. He has also expressed interest in potentially playing for the Vietnamese national basketball team but said he needs more time to explore that possibility while focusing on his NBA career.
In his first regular season (2022-2023), Williams played 49 games, averaging 18.7 minutes, 5.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.6 steals. His stats remained consistent in the following two seasons: 69 games - 13 minutes - 4 points - 3.4 rebounds - 1.6 assists - 0.4 steals in 2023-2024, and 47 games - 16.7 minutes - 5.9 points - 5.6 rebounds - 2.6 assists - 0.5 steals in 2024-2025.
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Jaylin celebrates the NBA championship in the locker room with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Photo: NBA |
Jaylin celebrates the NBA championship in the locker room with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Photo: NBA
Williams and OKC made the Western Conference NBA playoffs for the past two seasons, losing to the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2023-2024 semifinals before winning the Western Conference this season, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1. Their victory in the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers marks OKC's first championship since 1979 when the team was known as the Seattle SuperSonics.
In addition to Williams, another player of Vietnamese descent, Johnny Juzang, currently plays for the Utah Jazz. In the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Kaylinne Truong was selected by the Washington Mystics with the 21st pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. However, after a month of training, the Mystics released her. Truong then went on to play for PAOK in Greece.
The US is the birthplace and powerhouse of basketball. Since the establishment of the Vietnam Basketball Association (VBA) in 2016, numerous Vietnamese-Americans have returned to play and pursue careers in Vietnam, including notable players like Viet Arnold, Dinh Thanh Tam, Justin Young, Tran Dang Khoa, Chris Dierker, Richard Nguyen, and Johnny Juzang's brother, Christian Juzang. Kaylinne Truong and her twin sister, Thao My Truong, are prominent figures in women's basketball.
Hieu Luong
