Brothers Jalen and Cody Williams started on the court this Easter, uniting a family and defying the odds in a monumental game.
For most outside observers, the Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the Utah Jazz on Easter Sunday wasn't particularly noteworthy.
After all, this was the defending champions versus a team that was fined earlier this season for egregiously tanking. The team close to clinching the #1 overall seed in the NBA versus a team in the bottom four of the Tankathon standings. A team that had won 11 straight games at home versus a team that had won 8 road games all season. The betting line was the biggest margin in league history, as the Thunder were favored to win by 25.5 points.
But this game held a special meaning for one family.
Jalen Williams and younger brother Cody Williams both heard their names called in the starting lineups. Their parents, Ronald and Nicole Williams, cheered for both their sons. Their sister, Jasmin Williams, cheered for both of her brothers. Anytime the Williams brothers play each other on an NBA court, it's a momentous occasion. But the fact that both brothers started made it that much more remarkable. The fact that it was a holiday in which the family could all be together was the cherry on top.
“I mean, that’s my brother. That’s the closest human on earth I’m with," Jalen Williams said in postgame when asked about the brothers' relationship. "So I always talk to Cody whether I’m hurt or not, whatever the case may be. Just like a big brother role. It’s more like me talking to him about the NBA. Actually, that’s cap. Me and Cody don’t even talk about the NBA. Unless he’s playing and he had a game. He’ll call me after the game or something. We’ll talk about it for a little bit. Everything else is like, I mean, it’s my brother. So, it’s like the same way you guys talk to your siblings or family members, the same kind of conversations you have."
Both the Thunder and Jazz head coaches were asked about the siblings in their media availabilities before Sunday night's game.
“I don’t know Jalen very well but by all accounts, they’re both very, very intelligent young men," Utah head coach Will Hardy said. "Cody has a high-level of understanding of himself as a player and as a person."
“We’re rooting for Cody because we know him first of all," Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault said. "We met him when we drafted Dub. His parents are great people.”
Great people. Great ball players. And one great Easter Sunday for the Williams family.