Chandler district school honors alum, NBA Finals star

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

On the morning of one of the biggest days of his young pro sports career, a former Chandler Unified student-athlete was honored in the most public of ways.

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Jalen Williams was once a Perry Puma, years before he went on to help lead his team to the NBA Finals.

On the morning of June 5, about 11 hours before tipoff of game one of those finals, Williams was honored at Perry High School. His alma mater and the Town of Gilbert now have signs pointing to Jalen Williams Way as a street that runs off of Queen Creek Road into campus.

Jen Burks, Perry High School’s athletics director and 6A member of the Arizona Interscholastic Association Board of Directors, made an introduction, followed by former Perry coach Sam Duane Jr. praising Williams and telling stories that reflected his knowledge of, and love for, basketball.

Williams, 24, couldn’t break away from preparing for the NBA Finals to he in Arizona for the unveiling. But he made a short video thank-you that was played for current Perry student-athletes, Chandler Unified administrators and board members who gathered in the school cafeteria.

“I just want to say how thankful and blessed I am to have the support and love of Puma Nation,” Williams said. “I made close friendships that I still have to this day; that was some of the best times of my life. Go Pumas. Go Thunder.”

After that, it was time to head outdoors, where Willams’ namesake street separates most of the main campus from parking and the Hope Institute and swimming pool area.

Burks donned a hard hat and helped a technician in a cherry picker bucket rise up to the street sign and unveil Williams’ name.

Williams might have been ranked higher nationally as a recruit had he not gained so much of his 6-foot-5 height late in his Perry career. Still, he averaged more than 25 points per game his senior year, 2017-18, and earned a Region Offensive Player of the Year honor.

Williams averaged 18 points per game in the last of his three years with his college team, Santa Clara. He was the 12th overall pick in the 2022 draft, helping superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mold the Thunder into title contenders.

Williams earned his first All-Star team selection this season and helped the Thunder to a league-best 68-14 regular season. He had 34 points and made 6-of-9 3-pointers in one of the Thunder’s narrow Western Conference Finals wins over Minnesota.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.