Finding a social media post by someone on the Oklahoma City Thunder doesn’t take long when scrolling through X or TikTok. The youngest first seed in league history has leaned heavily on its youth.
The social media-savvy bunch is part of the new generation of players who grew up with modern technology and have had an online persona for most of their lives.
Jalen Williams is the most face-forward example on the Thunder. The 23-year-old is extremely active on X and has regularly posted and reposted TikTok videos.
Williams’ heavy online presence has ruffled the feathers of some fans and opposing fans, who possess an old-school mentality of players needing to stay offline during the playoffs.
The 23-year-old has been criticized for his social media usage, but he wasn’t concerned when asked about it in his exit interview. The critiques are shallow when discovered it’s more about optics and has zero correlation to how the second-year wing performs on the court.
“It doesn’t bother me at all. I got to play in the playoffs, be a key piece on the youngest team in history to be a one seed and win a playoff series,” Williams said. “And compete in the last one to go to six, obviously have a chance to play in the Western Conference finals.”
Williams continued that his playoff experiences will improve him as a player. The second-year wing has ascended into one of the best players in the league, becoming an efficient scorer who can do a little bit of everything.
“Experiences like that will make me better. Criticism, I could care less about. It doesn’t really bother me,” Williams said. “I go back to a very good life right after we’re done with this interview, so it doesn’t really bother me at all.”
Williams admitted he wasn’t on social media in the postseason as much as he was during the regular season. He also said while the unfair criticisms are there, being actively online also has its positives by building an interpersonal relationship with the fan base.
“I got off a little bit. I wasn’t on (X) as much. I was still there, but I still saw some stuff,” Williams said. “Like I said, it doesn’t really hold any value. It’s behind the keyboard.
“There’s also a lot of love on social media, too. I think in the heat of it you want to be consumed so much with people who are possibly preying on your downfall or hating, but at the same time, I got a lot of true authentic love and appreciation for what we’ve been doing all year. So you’ve kind of just got to take it with a grain of salt.”
It sounds like Williams will continue to actively stay online. It’s part of his character that’s helped him develop into the player he’s become. Changing that to appease a small group out of touch with modern reality isn’t worth the trouble.
“I try and just use it as motivation and go from there,” Williams said. “I think all year nothing really changed trying to navigate my way through social media and try and use it as a positive force.”
