By Robert Haugh

Jalen Williams has officially joined Santa Clara basketball royalty.

Last week, the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched the 2025 NBA championship with a 103-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7. 

Williams, the Thunder’s dynamic guard, played a pivotal role in the title run. And he made history as the first Santa Clara University (SCU) graduate to win an NBA championship since Kurt Rambis lifted the trophy with the legendary Lakers in the 1980s.

Williams’ Finals performance was nothing short of electric. In the decisive Game 7, he tallied 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists, capping off a playoff run where he averaged 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists over 23 games. 

Williams’ postseason was highlighted by a 40-point outburst in Game 6, helping push the Thunder to the brink of the title.

“Jalen Williams is a once-in-a-lifetime player,” said Thunder teammate and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander after the win. “Without him, without his performances, without his big-time moments, without his big-time shot making, defending, everything he brings to this team, we don’t win this championship. This is just as much my MVP as it is his and we’ll share this one for a very long time.”

Williams’ triumph ends a decades-long drought for Santa Clara alumni in the NBA’s biggest spotlight. The last Bronco to win a title was Rambis, who became a household name as part of the “Showtime Lakers.” 

Rambis, a Santa Clara Athletics Hall of Famer, was the school’s all-time leading scorer and a WCC Player of the Year before his NBA stardom.

This season, Williams became only the second SCU grad to make an All-NBA Team, joining Steve Nash in that exclusive club.  Nash was selected to the All-NBA first team three times from 2005-2007.

With this championship, Williams has reignited the Bronco legacy in the NBA, inspiring a new generation of Santa Clara athletes to dream big. 

Kurt Rambis (left) and Jalen Williams both starred for the Broncos before the NBA.