The Oklahoma City Thunder led the Indiana Pacers 3-2 following an incredible Game 5 victory.
In a 120-109 victory, Shy Gilgauss Alexander was his usual dominant self, finishing the contest with 31 points, 2 rebounds and 10 assists.
However, the real difference maker of the OKC Thunder was Jalen Williams. After being labelled as Scotty Pippen of this era by Brian Windhorst, Williams correctly proved ESPN analyst with a dominant 40-point performance in Game 5.
The 2024-25 NBA season was a breakout year for Williams, but there is no doubt about it. After winning his first NBA All-Star appearance during the regular season, J-Dub just got better.
In fact, Williams finished Game 5 with 40 points, six rebounds and four assists, according to data provided by Sofascore.
He did so by shooting an efficient 56.0% off the field and 60.0% off the three-point line. Thanks to his incredible performance, Williams has made his name into NBA Finals history.
According to athletic law Murray, Williams became the fifth oldest player to score at least 40 points in the NBA Finals game.
The only players younger than 24-year-old Williams to reach this feat were Magic Johnson, Russell Westbrook, Rick Barry and Jerry West.
Well, that’s an incredible list to become part of his first NBA Finals run.
If enough to include himself in the above NBA Legends is not enough, Williams has made it onto another historic list following his Game 5 performance.
To be precise, Williams had his third straight game, scoring at least 25 points in the NBA Finals, and 26 and 27 points in games 3 and 4.
According to the official NBA X-handle, Williams has joined the companies of Kyrie Irving, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant and Shaquille O’Neal, reaching this statistical line over the past 40 years.
With all that in mind, Williams really claimed himself to win the 2025 NBA Finals MVP when it comes to closing out the Game 6 series.
In five games, Williams averaged 25.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game during the Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers series.