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Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder will tackle the second night of a back-to-back at home tonight against the Detroit Pistons. 

Oklahoma City gears up to play the third game of its homestand after a long East coast road trip that ended in a loss to the Boston Celtics. 

Since returning home, the Thunder are 2-0, with wins over the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks, whom they beat last night. 

The defending NBA champions saw a total team effort in a double-digit victory against Jalen Brunson and the Knicks. Oklahoma City saw four players — all starters from last year’s championship-winning team — score double figures. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams combined for 52 points. Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort had 28 between them. 

No player appeared more full of energy than Williams. In just his fourth game back, Williams found the touch and steady rhythm. Thirteen of his 22 points came in the second quarter.

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Remarkably, the Thunder have looked like the team to beat virtually all year despite Williams’ limited availability.

Last night was just the 30th time Williams suited up this season. He missed the first 19 games of the year because of offseason wrist surgery. Williams then sustained multiple hamstring strains in the span of less than one month. 

The Thunder have carried on without their second best player in the lineup but know they’ll need him to be at 100% health to achieve another title. 

A part of getting Williams back to full form is easing him in. 

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has said Williams is still on a soft minutes restriction — he’s played fewer than 30 minutes in each of the four games he’s been back — as he fully adjusts to game speed. 

As is the case with many players who come off breaks due to injury, Williams will not yet be participating in back-to-backs. The 24-year-old Oklahoma City star will miss tonight’s game against the Pistons. 

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It is almost that time of year again. 

The defending NBA champions are just weeks away from going on a quest to shield their crown as all the talk about a potential repeat ramps up.

The Thunder are trying to become the first team in eight years to claim consecutive Larry O’Brien trophies. Being the best team all season, Oklahoma City is surely in position to repeat as champion. 

A big piece of the franchise’s title puzzle is Williams. An All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defensive selection a year ago, Williams is an under-25 star with still plenty of room for improvement. That says so much about how good he already is at such a young age. Not many guys can say they were this accomplished before turning 25. 

Last night’s game was a clear indication that Williams is returning to form. He tallied 22 points on an uber-efficient 7-for-11 shooting from the field. He also converted on all seven of his tries from the charity stripe. 

Beyond the hard numbers, Williams just looked the part.

He was twitchy and explosive. He even had a highlight play where he took the ball from one end of the court, picked up full speed, dribbled through multiple defenders while maintaining that speed and took it all the way to the basket for a high-degree-of-difficulty layup. 

His game adds a visible dimension to the Thunder offense, which is already so good thanks to the nightly stellar play of Gilgeous-Alexander, who by the way registered a 30-point game for the 42nd time this season on Sunday.

Tonight, Oklahoma City is aiming for its 60th win of the year. A victory would cement the franchise’s third season of 60 wins since moving to Bricktown in 2008.