From the best seat in the house, Jalen Williams enjoyed Ajay Mitchell's breakout the most. In just two years, the latter went from a two-way rookie to a household name. His biggest claim to fame? Shutting the door on the Los Angeles Lakers in a Round 2 series sweep.
As Williams dealt with a fourth hamstring strain in five months, the Oklahoma City Thunder needed others to step up. Sure, you could bank on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to put up NBA superstar numbers. He's a walking 30-point bucket. But somebody else needed to step up in the All-NBA talent's absence.
That turned out to be Mitchell. He had the playoff series of his life en route to a four-game sweep. He averaged 22.5 points on 56.3% shooting, six assists and three rebounds in four games
against the Lakers. On the other end, he completely locked up Austin Reaves — who had his worst career postseason series to date at 20.8 points, but on 42.6% shooting and 5.5 turnovers.
Mitchell helped close things out in Game 4 with an efficient 28 points. He'll be able to say for the rest of his NBA life that he closed the book on LeBron James' illustrious era on the Lakers. And if not him, Williams will boast about it. Sidelined with another injury, he turned into an OKC fan and enjoyed the postgame social media scrolling.
"I don’t want to say I was happy to be out. But that was a fun series to be out for," Williams said on 'The Old Man and the Three' podcast alongside Mitchell. "Because every time you had a good game, I would go straight to Twitter."
Of course, the Lakers are known for having the biggest fanbase in the NBA. They're basketball's version of the Dallas Cowboys. When you have a fanbase that rivals the population of most countries, you're going to get some hilarious reactions. Especially after the Thunder completely dismantled and humiliated them at every turn last year.
Seeing your season end at the hands of OKC's Sixth Man was brutal to see play out live. Didn't help that the Lakers kept dangling hope on Luka Doncic's miraculous return that never materialized. Instead, the MVP candidate had to watch from the sidelines as he recovered from a severe season-ending hamstring strain he sustained in OKC in Apr. 2026.
While that was fun to see play out, something tells me Williams would take the alternative of him playing in a heartbeat. So would the Thunder and Mitchell. His health might be OKC's ultimate X-factor in terms of its 2026-27 NBA title hopes.
Jalen Williams on Ajay Mitchell’s series against the Lakers: “I don’t want to say I was happy to be out. But that was a fun series to be out for. Because every time you had a good game, I would go straight to Twitter.” pic.twitter.com/FgpmhWU77h
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) October 15, 2026
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: How Jalen Williams trolled Lakers fans in 2026 NBA playoffs: 'Fun series'
