Jalen Williams Way unveiled to honor the Perry alum, Thunder All-Star

As Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams prepared for his first NBA Finals appearance on Thursday, his alma mater back in the Valley unveiled a new street name in his honor.

Perry Puma Drive was renamed Jalen Williams Way with an unveiling ceremony hosted on the morning of Game 1 between the Thunder and Indiana Pacers.

What a great day in the Puma Nation!!! We are thrilled to honor Perry alum, @jdubwttp with Jalen Williams Way!!!
Good luck to Jalen and the @okcthunder in the @NBA Finals!!!
Thank you to everyone who came to support this event!@PerryPumas07 @GilbertYourTown @ChandlerUnified pic.twitter.com/Cf39HO521O

— Perry High Athletics (@perry_pumas) June 5, 2025

Williams spent four years at Gilbert Perry and went off to play three years of college ball at Santa Clara. He earned the Chandler Unified School District Player of the Year award at Perry, where he was coached by Sam Duane.

The Thunder drafted the Arizona native with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and he quickly became a key building block for the franchise. He made All-NBA Third Team for the first time in his career this season and the All-Defensive Second Team. He averaged a career-high 21.6 points per game this season.

According to the NBA, Williams is the first player to be named an All-Star, All-NBA member, All-Defensive honoree and play in the NBA Finals during his third season or earlier since Bill Walton in 1976-77 with the Portland Trail Blazers.

“I stayed at Perry all four years when I could have went to prep or did something else. I had really good coaches,” Williams said in a media availability posted by 12News’ Cameron Cox. “They kind of made me into the player I am today just as far as understanding the game, how to approach the game, watching film, they introduced me to a lot of that.”

Jalen talks @perry_pumas!

Perry High School is renaming a street outside the school to "Jalen Williams Way" — honoring former @perry_pumas star Jalen Williams, who just helped OKC get to the #NBAFinals. They'll unveil the new street sign Thursday morning. @12SportsAZ pic.twitter.com/hTkN0IkP3c

— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) June 2, 2025

Williams’ Thunder eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games during the Western Conference Finals and are considered heavy favorites to win the championship.

Perry similarly unveiled “Brock Purdy Way” in February 2024 to honor the school’s former quarterback and current member of the San Francisco 49ers, Brock Purdy, ahead of his Super Bowl debut.

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