The Thunder won Game 5 of their NBA Finals series 120-109 and grabbed a 3-2 lead in the series, only one win away from their first NBA championship in franchise history. Jalen Williams went off against the Pacers and overshadowed the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points), with his 40-point performance.
He scored the 40 points in 35 minutes, beating the previous quickest 40-point performance in the NBA Finals from Kobe Bryant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bryant did it during the 2008-09 NBA Finals, while Antetokounmpo did it in 2020-21.
Jalen Williams got to 40 QUICK. pic.twitter.com/927vRDzJPa
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) June 17, 2025
According to StatMuse, some other elite players on this list include Devin Booker (39 minutes), Kyrie Irving, and Michael Jordan (40 minutes each). Williams’ nuclear scoring electrified the crowd in Oklahoma as he made 14 of his 25 shots in the game. He made three of his five shots (60%) from beyond the arc and 9 of his 12 free throws (75%).
Williams is not the second player in Thunder history to have a 40-point game in the NBA Finals. The other player is not Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but ‘Mr. Oklahoma’ himself: Russell Westbrook. Westbrook did it in Game 4 of the NBA Finals series against the Miami Heat in 2012, where he had 43 points.
Williams is also the third youngest player after Magic Johnson and Westbrook to score 40 points in an NBA Finals game since the merger.
Jalen Williams Reveals Kobe Bryant Inspiration
Before Game 5, Jalen Williams appeared in an interview with Malika Andrews of ESPN. She asked him about why he chose the number eight for his jersey. He admitted he was a big Kobe fan while growing up, but he never thought he could replicate his game. But he hopes to learn from some parts of his game.
“Yeah, just like the mentality. Obviously, I don’t think I play anything like Kobe. I kind of threw that out when I was younger. But the more I get in these positions the more I understand like the way that he was, and I think that’s what makes it fun to like be in these situations.”
Earlier in the Playoffs, Williams compared his teammate Gilgeous-Alexander to Kobe Bryant. And today, he beat the record set by his hero.
NBA Insider Reveals Bold Prediction On Jalen Williams’ Career
Before Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Brian Windhorst appeared on ESPN’s Get Up show and claimed that many people around the league believe Jalen Williams will have a career like Scottie Pippen.
“The big thing that was the difference-maker in Game 4 was how SGA worked with Jalen Williams,” Windhorst said. “There are people in this league who believe that Jalen Williams can have a Scottie Pippen-like career because he can do it at both ends.”
“Jalen Williams was the guy who unlocked SGA throughout that whole game,” Windhorst added. “That one-two maneuver could be a big thing, not just tonight, but for the next decade in the NBA.”
Will Jalen Williams live up to the hype that is built around his name now? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
