How Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams became this generation's Scottie Pippen - ESPN

HE WAS A no-star recruit coming out of high school, landing at a small college before a sudden growth spurt. He didn't register on NBA scouts' radars until a couple of years later, as success didn't come immediately even at that level, and then zoomed up the draft boards into the lottery late in the process.

This once unheralded prospect just kept getting better and better after arriving in the NBA, establishing himself as a do-it-all co-star, a perfect complement to an MVP who led the league in scoring. He earned his first All-Star appearance in his third season and hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy — for the first of several times — before hitting his prime.

It was a heck of a career path for Scottie Pippen, the Hall of Famer who won six titles as Michael Jordan's superstar sidekick with the Chicago Bulls. More than a few decades later, Jalen Williams seems to be on a similar journey, a blossoming star thriving in the shadow of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to clinch their first championship in Thursday's Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers in large part because of Williams' performance in the series. The 6-foot-6 Williams has done everything from serving as the primary defender on Pacers star power forward Pascal Siakam to running point while his scoring total has increased in each game, rising to a playoff-career-high 40 points in the Thunder's pivotal Game 5 win.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams have put themselves in that sort of company with their production in this series. They have combined for 291 points in the Finals. According to ESPN Research, the only duos to score more points through five games in a Finals are Jordan and Pippen in 1993, LeBron James and