Watch: JDub speaks before Game 2, reflects on MVP night, "One of the Coolest Moments Ever"

Q: What was your feel on yesterday and just getting to experience that as a team?

Jalen Williams: "Yeah, I mean, I feel like there's a lot of guys that probably don't get to play with like an MVP caliber player. And obviously, I think he's one of three — oh, I guess one of four, Harden got it after — but one of three to get it here. So that was a really cool experience, really cool moment for the team, him, his family. So I'm really happy that I got to be a part of that."

Q: What will you remember most about his MVP season years from now?

Jalen Williams: "I don't know if it'll be particularly about him, but maybe to make it more about him for your question, is more about him? I think a lot of the stuff that doesn't have anything to with basketball, I definitely remember his son's first birthday party. That was fun. We all dressed up and stuff like that. Maybe shopping in New York, just stuff like that — a lot of stuff that really doesn't have anything to do with basketball.

I feel like when it comes down to it and you get older, you maybe remember a couple of individual games, but you remember more like a lot of the fun stuff that you do outside of basketball. So I'd probably say one of those two things."

Q: Shai said realizing who he was off the court made him a better player. How does that show up in your relationship with him?

Jalen Williams: "I wouldn't say he said anything specifically, but I think the reason we both get along so well is because we're both really comfortable in our own skin. And I feel like that how he is as a leader, kind of affects the whole team. And when you're comfortable, it allows everybody else around you to be comfortable who they are. So I think that's a big one as far as just being a leader. And I think how he impacts the team."

Q: After your strong defensive performance in Game 1, what’s your mindset moving forward?

Jalen Williams: "Honestly, I just wipe whatever game I had and just go to the next one. Same as a bad game, but definitely try and take — like the steals are cool, but it's just more about — and I say it a lot — like being in the right position, being in the right spot, making that extra play. Like just stuff like that over the course of a series will put us in a really good spot. So I try and do that and I didn’t that out."

Q: How do you decide when to gamble for a steal?

Jalen Williams: "In that moment, a lot of it is like reactionary. It's like risk and reward. It's gambling, to be honest. Like, it's not like a set thing. It's just like read and react kind of thing. Like every player does it. I think I just do it at like a higher rate. But a lot of it stems from like the confidence I have in the defense behind me that if I miss, I can still kind of recover and rotate.

But a lot of it's just like trying to read what the offense is doing and you study plays and stuff like that, that other team is doing. You try and like search some of them out, but a lot of it is just reactionary kind of in that moment. And sometimes you kind of got away time and score too — you know, if I miss, am I going to give up an open shot? So there's a lot of stuff that goes into it, but yeah, it's just more like reactionary. You know, of reading the game."

Q: Do you like to go for those steals during runs when the building’s buzzing?

Jalen Williams: "Yes. I wouldn’t even say like I'm looking at it as a run kind of thing. It's just like the energy in the building. It's like you want to make that next big play. But at the same time, it goes down to time and score too because it's like a lot of plays will also call for us to be solid and make them kind of make a tough shot. So definitely have to like kind of look around the landscape of what's going on with the game."

Q: Have you ever been part of a team with this special of a dynamic?

Jalen Williams: "Nah. I would say pretty close at Santa Clara during COVID. We were stuck in the hotel together and those became like some of my best friends I still talk to to this day. So I felt like when you're forced to like hang out with each other, you get close. But this team dynamic is really special and it's definitely something unique to the NBA.

Like I think we're still the youngest team in the NBA or one of the youngest teams in NBA. And it's cool. Like we're all growing up together. So I think that's what makes it really unique and fun."

Q: With the emotions of Game 1 and the MVP moment, does it feel like the Western Conference Finals are truly here?

Jalen Williams: "Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think every experience, nervous or not, is really fun because we're playing basketball. And that's what you try and like get back to — that base — as fast as you can. I think after playing Denver and like playing in a Game 7, like that's pretty like high on the nerve scale. So not everything else is kind of like lower and we're kind of able to play again. But yeah, definitely like the nerves are good and I think it drags us back to base. They're just having fun."

Q: What’s top of mind heading into Game 2, knowing Minnesota will come out aggressive?

Jalen Williams: "Being able to take punches and throw some back for sure. I think that's the biggest thing — not being shocked. You know, obviously they're going to come out better and play harder. Just being down one on the series and trying to steal one here. So I think just understanding the money opponent and not getting too high or too low during the game."

Q: Are you expecting to be named to the All-Defense team?

Jalen Williams: "I need Lou to be on there, to be honest. After that, it's cool, but he's well deserved for first team. I think I should be on there too, for sure. But I think just in the building and what everybody wants right now — especially me — is for Lou to do it. I mean, it's a lot of years that he should have been on it, so he should get it like six times this year. You should put his name down there like four or five times."

Q: Was there a moment where you realized Shai was really going to win MVP?

Jalen Williams: "I would say our first sets of games, coming out of the thing, he was still getting close to 30 a game and he was out there actively trying to work on the stuff he did in the summer. So he wasn't even doing the stuff that he usually does. And I was like, he's getting around 28 a game and he's not even doing the stuff he likes to do yet. I think he has a really good chance of doing it."