Mark Daigneault reveals one of Thunder’s best ‘development stories’ before Game 2

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault considers Jaylin Williams’ pick-and-roll defense to be one of the best development stories throughout his time with the organization. After Williams scored a career-high 30 points in a 124-116 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the regular season, Daigneault described Jaylin as “unreal” for his versatility.

The strides made on the defensive end of the floor have led to a breakout season and valuable playing time in Game 1 of their first-round, best-of-7 series against the Phoenix Suns. However, it’s Williams’ pick-and-roll defense that led to an increased role for the Thunder this season, which is why Jaylin played valuable minutes in Game 1 of the defending champions’ title defense.

“A lot of him with him is just positioning. He just so disciplined to his positioning. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to make a play,” Daigneault said. “If you’re out of position, then you’re just gambling at that point. He was in all the right spots and got himself in some playmaking positions. But it starts with being in the right spots, being disciplined to the plan/executing at a high level. He did all of that really well.”

In his fourth season with the Thunder, Williams is averaging career bests in points (7.6), defensive rebounds (5.5), and minutes (19.6) per game. He finished with five points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists against the Suns.

“That’s one of our best development stories, to be honest with you,” Daigneault added. “If you’re a 5 in the NBA, the offense is going to force your pick-and-roll defense to be a huge part of your development plan. It just is. That’s what the NBA is. It’s a lot of pick-and-roll. He was not a very great pick-and-roll defender right off the bat. Went to the Blue. That was his first point of emphasis. He learned his game. He learned the nature of the NBA game.

“We learned him better. We learned that one of his great strengths is his intelligence. So, we’ve really tried to encourage him to use that in the pick-and-roll game. And as he’s learned the league and as he’s learned the pictures, he’s applied his intelligence in a lot of different ways. And he keeps himself out of his most vulnerable situations.”

Mark Daigneault added that Thunder center Jaylin Williams has even developed a unique style for defending some opposing teams’ pick-and-roll, which he incorporated into his game on his own and through his experiences with the Thunder. This is why Daigneault considers Williams’ growth in that regard as one of Oklahoma City’s best developmental stories.

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