Jalen Williams explains differences between this year's and last year's OKC Thunder

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The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a similar position to last year. After clinching the first seed, they await the play-in tournament results to find their Round 1 opponent in the 2025 NBA playoffs.

Outside of Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, the Thunder had most of the same roster. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren continue to headline their current championship window. That said, there are some key differences.

The Thunder didn't need any regular-season finale luck to get the first seed. Instead, they clinched it with three weeks left in the regular season. They clinched the first seed before anybody else in the West even clinched a playoff spot.

And unlike last year, the Thunder have some playoff experience. They battled it out with the Dallas Mavericks in last year's second-round series. They know what it's like being on the biggest stage with the entire NBA world's attention.

Williams explained the differences between last year's squad and this year's. The 24-year-old earned his first career All-Star bid this season. If the Thunder make a deep playoff run, he must play a big role as OKC's second-best scorer.

"More experienced. We have different players on our team, too. We've just been through a lot more. That's just how time works. Obviously, being the one seed two years in a row, you go through a lot of different ups and downs this season," Williams said. "One that always sticks out is just us playing in the Cup. We go on a road trip where we play Miami and Orlando back-to-back, just two different time zones. Being able to grow through that. We won 15 in a row right after that. Just learning how to evolve through the season and have no excuses. Just get better through each game."

The Thunder are fresh off one of the greatest regular-season campaigns in NBA history. They finished with a franchise-best 68-14 record and an NBA-best point differential. Every team in their company cruised to a championship. Time will tell if they repeat history, but safe to say they're equipped to do so.

Jalen Williams on the difference between this year and last year’s Thunder: pic.twitter.com/aIKiQi7RnX

— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 16, 2025

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jalen Williams on differences between this year's, last year's Thunder

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