Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder is receiving a bit of backlash online, and he is responding to it.
Williams recently posted a photo comparison of himself to Kobe Bryant, and multiple people online poked fun at him.
Now, Williams is responding.
“tbh the same people calling me corny couldn’t hold my water in real life, prolly would ask for a selfie if we was face to face,” Williams said on Instagram, via Clemente Alamanza.
Jalen Williams on people who call him corny: pic.twitter.com/2ueiYz2AE1
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) July 25, 2025
What caused all of this?
It started when Williams recently had surgery on his wrist.
The operation went well, and Williams is on his way to recovery, sure to be back with his reigning champion Thunder in a few months.
He hopped on social media to share a picture of himself in his pajamas and with a wrapped wrist, on a practice court, practicing his shot with one hand.
Next to that photo was one of Bryant from 1999 doing the exact same thing.
Some people flooded into the comments, calling Williams “corny” for making a comparison to Bryant.
Williams could have just taken the nasty words, but he wasn’t having it and was ready to battle back.
He has never been shy of his feelings for Bryant, and surely seeing similarities between him and his hero was inspiring.
It’ll help him on his road to recovery, which is a big and important deal.
It is vital that Williams gets better as quickly as possible, because he helped the Thunder out a lot recently as they pushed all the way through the playoffs and to their first NBA title.
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