Jaylin Williams addresses 'Other J-Williams' nickname: 'I don't seek approval'

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On one of the NBA's cash cows, you can expect role players to become household names. The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen that with Jaylin Williams — on both sides of the spectrum. On one end, happy, go-lucky folks have fallen in love with his team-first attitude and wide smile. On the other hand, cynics don't care for him much.

In a roster filled with them, Williams is one of OKC's best developmental stories. He had a breakout year as he averaged 7.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. The 23-year-old has shown he can seamlessly scale up and down — depending on whatever the Thunder need from him on any given night.

Despite all that, Williams is still seen as a forgettable background character. At least to some folks on a national scale. Locally, he's turned into a fan favorite. In his four seasons, his off-court chemistry has matched his on-court production.

Commonly referred to as 'The Other J. Williams,' I think Williams has had enough NBA success not to be treated with a backhanded nickname. Sure, he's not an All-NBA caliber guy like teammate Jalen Williams, but he's a successful-enough role player to be known by most hoop heads at this point. Especially since the Thunder are on national TV every other night.

Following a Game 7 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Williams met with the media for his exit interview. The 23-year-old talked about his breakout season and where he can go from here. Losing weight in the offseason, the bet to change his body completely paid off. Now, he's one of the better bench bigs in the league. He also talked about not caring for his fictitious nickname.

"I'm not seeking approval from anybody. I mean, it's just people talking. It doesn't matter to me what they call me. I've been called way worse in my life. I've been called way worse the past 12 hours," Williams said. "But I don't seek approval. I don't really care what they call me. My teammates call me J-Will. My family calls me Jay. People I love, they call me by my name."

That's a pretty healthy mentality to have. If you're an NBA player, you're going to have to be numb to a certain level of constant feedback you see about yourself online and elsewhere. While most Thunder fans get annoyed when Williams' presence gets downgraded to his 'Other' nickname, he himself just shrugs it off his shoulders like water off a duck's back.

Such comes with the territory of being on one of the NBA's best teams. Williams has been under the national spotlight for most of his career because of OKC's success. With that notoriety comes plenty of outside noise you have to ignore. And sometimes, it's not just what fans say, but national media folks.

"At the end of the day, that's all that matters to me. My teammates," Williams said. "I don't care about anybody else, what they call me. Really, that's it."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jaylin Williams addresses 'Other J-Williams' nickname: 'I don't seek approval'

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