Jalen Williams Discusses Losing out on Millions Because of Injury

The new NBA rule about being required to play at least 65 games to win major awards is controversial. On the one hand, part of the ability is availability. To be an impact player in the NBA and be considered an MVP, ALL-NBA, or Defensive Player of the Year, you should be able to participate in 80% of your team's games. 

However, in the new era, 65 games is more of a feat than it used to be. Teams and players are prioritizing long-term health more than ever. Teams also know it is a long season, and they want their players healthy when playoff time rolls around. Having your star rest a game here and there or take an extra few weeks to recover from injury is common practice. 

Jalen Williams made All-NBA last year but will miss it this season due to games missed. This will have major financial implications for him as he won’t be eligible for certain bonuses. Here’s him speaking about the money he will miss out on. 

"I'm not too worried about it. But I mean, I think honestly, the way I was thinking about it was if I come back and I play hurt, right? Then I risk you don't want to do that. I risk messing my hand up and kind of wasting a lot of the work that my team and our training staff I put into the summer. So if it wasn't time for me to play, it wasn't time for me to play. That- that's more like a God's plan thing, and I'm just kind of rolling with it. I'll never be salty over the money. We obviously will be able to use that elsewhere, which will be even nicer to keep our team together. Um, it's very generous. Yeah, I mean, I made a lot of money over the summer, too. So, I'm never gonna be too greedy. Um, again, it's one of those things where, like, coming from like, a small school, I never thought I would make the amount of money that I'm making now anyway. So, I'm- I'm not too concerned over it. It's about the goal for me is about winning before it is about money."

This is what makes Williams and the Thunder so great. They seem less concerned about their own money and accolades than they are with winning as a team. When you’re making tens of millions of dollars to play basketball, this is a refreshing perspective to hear.