Jalen Williams is now an NBA champion after helping the Oklahoma City Thunder prevail in Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers and complete one of the more impressive seasons in league history. The emerging young star proved himself to be the perfect complement to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and an ability to put a team on his back in the biggest moments, as evidenced by his 40-point masterclass in a pivotal Game 5.

At 24 years old he seems mature beyond his years—something that could be said about a lot of the Thunder's title-winning roster. Williams showed yet another glimpse of that late Sunday night when he was asked by SportsCenter's Scott Van Pelt about what the most satisfying thing to give the team had been.

"Nothing is more precious than time," Williams said. "Just giving the team my time and them giving me theirs. We've had team dinners after we've lost. We've had plane don't take off until 4 a.m. and we sit on the runway. All those cool times when we were present with each other ... all that stuff, I'm happy I did that with this team."

That's a pretty telling statement. Especially after achieving the highest possible professional triumph mere minutes ago. Williams being able to draw upon that perspective in that moment should only make Thunder fans more optimistic about their future. Because it sure seems to be in good hands.

More NBA Finals on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jalen Williams Had a Powerful Quote About Time After Winning NBA Finals.

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