This past Friday night was a very special night for the Williams family. Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams was facing his brother Cody for the first time in the NBA, as the younger sibling was drafted by Utah this past summer and is enjoying his rookie year.
Jalen Williams’ mother had been present at a number of their contests this season, but felt overwhelmed to see both of them share the floor together at basketball’s bigges stage. “Makeup everywhere,” Jalen said about his mom after a 130-107 Oklahoma City win. “She cried the whole game.”
The Thunder star had been waiting for this moment for a while now, as his first chance to play against the Jazz came in early December, but his brother Cody had been sent to the G League that night. Then again in January, but the rookie missed out again.
Jalen Williams 🤝 Cody Williams
Brotherly love. https://t.co/C5lDedBPhm pic.twitter.com/M3jXLdo1Cu
— NBA (@NBA) February 22, 2025
“Jalen was so anxious to play with Cody,” their mother recalled. “I remember when Cody was in high school. (Jalen) was like, ‘Mom, he’s smart, just bump him up a grade so we can play together.’ And it’s like, ‘Nope, you can’t do that.’”
Cody also remembers wanting to play with his older sibling. “When I was a freshman in high school, he was a freshman in college, so we always just joked about the only way we’re gonna play against each other is in the NBA. So it’s just crazy that that came true,” he shared.
As the second quarter started on Friday, the 20-year-old stood in the corner waiting for a pass. When he did, Jalen Williams ran towards him to defend his brother, who scored three points and earned three rebounds in 16 minutes that night. The OKC guard ended the game with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in 28 minutes.
“I don’t really have words for it, bro,” Jalen said once the match came to an end. “It’s very weird. It was emotional, though, because I was trying not to cheer for him when I was on the bench, too. He’s grown up.”
