After helping the Oklahoma City Thunder reach the 2025 NBA Finals, Jalen Williams was honored by his former high school with a street name unveiling ceremony Thursday morning.

Perry High School officially renamed Perry Puma Way, the street that leads into the school, Jalen Williams Way, in celebration of everything the recently named All-Star has accomplished since first stepping foot on campus nearly 10 years ago.

Williams described the honor as a full circle moment.

“I definitely didn’t expect it,” Williams said during a press conference this week with national media. “I stayed at Perry all four years when I could have went prep or did something else. I had really good coaches - coach (Sam) Duane, coach (Arron) Foshie, coach (Kevin) Hartwig - that kind of made me the player that I am today, just as far as understanding the game, how to approach the game, watching film, they introduced me to a lot of that.”

During his time as a Puma, Williams helped the program reach the state semifinals, was named the Chandler Unified School District Player of the Year and received All-Conference team recognition. He averaged over 25 points per game his senior season.

For the next three years, Williams then showcased his talent at Santa Clara before being selected 12th overall by the Thunder in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Perry’s basketball program was able to find its rhythm once again shortly after Williams’ departure, winning four straight state championships since.

“Jalen is Perry basketball,” said recently retired Perry head coach Sam Duane. “Jalen set the foundation for our championship run. So, really now, we’re rooting for him to get his ring.”

Williams is currently looking to cap off his third NBA season with a championship victory against the Indiana Pacers.

So far throughout his professional career, he’s chipped in when it mattered most.

Williams finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in the team's 124-94 Game 5 win against the Timberwolves a week ago. He’s averaging 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this season, all of which are career highs.

The two-way perimeter threat was also voted to the All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive Second Team this season.

According to Yvette Albornoz, one of Williams’ former teachers at Perry, he believed in himself from the very beginning.

“It’s so funny, because when I had him he was just a little bit taller than I was and he used to tell me with so much confidence that he was going to be famous, and look at where we are now,” Albornoz said.

Unfortunately, Williams wasn’t able to attend the ceremony in person with Game 1 of the NBA Finals taking place the same night.

Angela Stutz, another of Williams’ former high school teachers, has a bit of a bias heading into the finals.

“I’m so excited to watch him,” Stutz said. “I was on a plane for the final game the other night and I was cheering in my seat while the people next to me were looking at me. He’ll do well, I know he will, because he’s just that kind of guy.”