Jalen Williams responds to criticism of nationally televised Thunder games

The OKC Thunder are clearly one of the hottest teams in the NBA in the first quarter of 2024-25. Still, they haven’t received the same attention from the league’s marketing team as their title-hoping competitors.

This is something Oklahoma City has taken note of as they are now beginning to publicly express their frustration over it.

Before the NBA Cup semifinal game against the Houston Rockets, the press had a lot of questions for Jalen Williams and company, and it wasn’t surprising that they were asked about the lack of media coverage.

Jalen Williams talks about how the Thunder’s recent disrespect is driving her

During J-Dub’s media session, he was asked what he thought of a recent retweet from teammate Alex Caruso that highlighted the Thunder’s lack of nationally televised games, as well as his opinion on the two games the Thunder recently played have added nationally televised matches to their schedule.

“This is something we all understand as a team. Since we are only a small market team, this is part of it. We are also very happy to accept it. It puts strain on our shoulders to some extent. We also understand how it works.” The media and the reporting work and so on. “The only thing we can do is win games and get to the point where we have to be seen on TV.” Williams said.

The attitude the Thunder are displaying is, in fact, Williams’ claim to have a proverbial chip on her shoulder as they continue to go out on a limb to prove that they are must-see television and the future are faces of the league.

They have everything it takes to be this top team.

They have a roster with an MVP-caliber player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two emerging starters in Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, and a top-notch defense that will go down in the record books.

SGA also had something to say when it came to the Thunder’s lack of nationally televised games, but took a more humble approach, saying it was something every player dreams of, playing in front of the whole world.

Gilgeous-Alexander ultimately avoided the core question, but his answer demonstrated his leadership skills and superstar presence.

Still, it’s strange when you look at the NBA schedule that the Thunder play very few national matches on a large scale. The fact that they are home and not on the hardwood on Christmas Day speaks volumes!

For a team that has the third-best record of the season, it just seems like the league doesn’t want to market them and the team is getting tired of it.

Their next nationally televised game after the NBA Cup is December 19th against the Orlando Magic and will air on TNT.

For now at least, they are preparing to face Houston in an exhibition broadcast on TNT for everyone to see.