Jalen Williams honored to see Santa Clara retire college jersey number

One of their most notorious alumni, Santa Clara will retire Jalen Williams' No. 24 jersey on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The mid-major school helped the 24-year-old grow up as a late bloomer into an NBA champion and All-NBA player.

Williams spent three college seasons at Santa Clara from 2019-22. He averaged 12.6 points on 46.9% shooting, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Playing in the West Coast Conference had him fly under the radar before a superb predraft process skyrocketed him into the lottery range.

Of course, the Oklahoma City Thunder added Williams with the No. 12 pick of the 2024 NBA draft. To twist the knife even further on the NBA's Herschal Walker trade, they drafted him with the LA Clippers' lottery pick.

Since then, Williams has ascended into one of the NBA's best players. He had a breakout season last year as a first-time All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defense player. Adding his name to the OKC mythos, he dropped 40 points in a Game 5 win during the 2025 NBA Finals. Oh, and by the way, he did all that on an injured wrist.

Recently returning from two wrist surgeries to repair torn ligaments, Williams is excited to see Santa Barbara honor one of their greatest NBA player alumni. Other notable players include Steve Nash and Brandin Podziemski.

"It's an honor for sure. I'm really excited. It's very hard not to look forward to the next day because obviously we play. But just a lot of memories here. Especially at that school, so it'll be a really good time," Williams said. "Just at that school, I learned how to be a better basketball player and a better person. A lot of those experiences I had, especially during COVID, kinda shaped me into who I want to be as a person."

You can argue that Williams' success has reshaped how NBA draft evaluators look at older prospects from smaller schools. Sometimes, you go with somebody who has a higher floor, and teams should feel confident that your environment and resources can crash through their ceilings.

Santa Clara will host Utah Tech. The retirement ceremony will happen during halftime. Williams continues to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Now that he's an NBA champion, that comes with a lot more accolades and gifts. This is the latest one as he draws comparisons to Scottie Pippen.

"A lot of cool memories that go outside of basketball. I have a lot of lifelong friends from that school," Williams said, "It gave me a lot of leeway with the coaching staff and playing and an opportunity to compete at this level."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jalen Williams honored to see Santa Clara retire college jersey number