Thunder’s $6,580,997 Star Appears to Shade Russell Westbrook, James Harden & Kevin Durant Over Their Ringless OKC Years With Bold Message

OKC Thunder star Jalen Williams appeared to take a jab at Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Durant on Sunday. The forward’s backhanded compliment toward the trio referenced their ringless run in Oklahoma City as he delivered a bold message.

In a post shared by Ball44TV, Jalen Williams seemed to throw a bit of shade at the former OKC trio after seeing a fan edit of their Thunder days. J-Dub replied to the clip with a skeptical reaction GIF, which quickly caught the attention of a fan.

"Your big 3 won but they won our hearts," the fan replied to Williams.

However, the Thunder forward offered a bold statement to the fans' comment, claiming he would rather have the "ring."

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"I rather the ring," Williams remarked.

Jalen Williams offers a bold statement to a fan online (Source: Ball44tv/IG)

This comment was a subtle jab at Harden, Durant and Westbrook's OKC days as the trio led the team to multiple conference finals, while losing in their lone NBA Finals appearance against the Miami Heat in 2012. In contrast, Williams, alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, helped lead the Thunder to their first championship in four decades.

Williams, who is set to earn $6,580,997 this season per Spotrac, has yet to feature this season as he continues to recover from a wrist injury. However, despite his absence, the Thunder have begun the season brilliantly, holding a 10-1 record and are the favorites to go back-to-back.

On the other hand, Russell Westbrook and James Harden are yet to win an NBA championship, while Kevin Durant won his two NBA titles during his time with the Golden State Warriors. For Williams, though, the message was clear: he’s already achieved what that star trio couldn’t in a Thunder jersey.

Kevin Durant and James Harden reflect on their shared journey in Netflix’s Starting Five, years after their OKC Thunder departure

The OKC Thunder team in the early 2010s held huge promise as Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook formed a formidable partnership in the West. While the team gradually improved and reached the NBA Finals in 2012, they were unable to run it back as Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets that offseason.

While the trio has spoken about what could've been, KD and Harden reflected on their shared journey in Netflix's Starting Five. In the trailer for season 2, KD reminisced on his first meeting with Harden.

"I remember, I was a freshman in college and I was in L.A.,” Durant said. “Me and Greg Oden had gone to Roscoe’s one night, and James just pulled up on us. I think that was the start of it right there."

Harden later added a lighthearted twist to Durant’s story.

"What do you mean ‘he’s one of us’? Like, I’m one of him. Don’t get it twisted," he joked.

Their strong chemistry years after leaving OKC shows just how much more the duo, along with Westbrook, could have achieved had they stayed together.

Edited by Arian Kashyap