Thunder rookie Jalen Williams surprises Tinker troops for Veterans Day

MIDWEST CITY — As Jalen Williams walked onto Tinker Air Force Base on Thursday, the Thunder rookie described a feeling of deja vu.

Jalen’s parents, Ron and Nicole, served 24 and 12 years in the Air Force. They served in South Korea, Japan, Germany and across the United States. Nicole retired from the Air Force when she had Jalen.

The planes, runways and aircraft hangars at Tinker all looked familiar to Jalen, who used to work out with his dad at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix.

Williams, the Santa Clara guard drafted 12th overall by the Thunder, was in Midwest City not just to reminisce about his family’s Air Force roots, but to surprise troops on the eve of Veterans Day.

The first group of troops, who returned from Saudi Arabia five weeks ago, had no idea what was going on when Williams walked into an auditorium.

“A lot of your service gets overlooked,” Williams said, addressing the room from behind a podium. “I just want to say I appreciate you guys.”

The uniformed personnel, quiet at first, quickly loosened up. Williams took selfies, signed hats and invited the troops to a screening of the new Black Panther film.

“Just the way that he perceives us as American heroes still is kind of dope,” said JaCar King, a senior airman from Ohio.

Williams took a bus tour around the expansive base, and stopped to meet another group inside a hangar that housed a massive AWACS.

Williams swapped stories and shared lots of laughs.

“Obviously what they do, to be on call for whatever at any moment, I think that’s something that kind of gets looked over or taken for granted,” Williams said.

Williams knows firsthand. His mom was a medical technician and his dad was a master sergeant who helped engineer military aircraft.

Williams said his parents weren’t overly strict, not what you think of stereotypical military parents.

“Just big core values,” Williams said, “like making your bed, being on time, respecting people.”

Williams learned those values from his parents, and he also learned a thing or two about basketball from mom and dad.

“They both could’ve played collegiately, which is cool,” Williams said. “I don’t think many people know that. Both of my parents have a basketball background. They just decided to go into the Air Force. There really wasn’t a lot to it. I think they figured out it was their calling.”

His parents moved all over the globe, but they were at the tail end of their careers when Jalen was born. He was born in Denver, lived in California for a few years, but he calls Arizona home. That’s where he spent much of his life before starring at Santa Clara in the Bay Area.

On draft day, Williams knew it would be easy to adapt to whatever city he landed in.

“When you move around schools the way I did, I think being accepting of different environments is something that I don’t really notice, but I think I do now,” Williams said. “It kind of just comes naturally.”

It showed on Thursday as he toured the base near his new home.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Thunder rookie Jalen Williams surprises Tinker troops for Veteran's Day