Oklahoma City Thunder center Jaylin Williams did not appear on the first injury report submitted by the team for their Friday night game against the Miami Heat. The young big has missed the last three games but also hasn't received the minutes that constitute starting him in most fantasy leagues. Williams will likely return to his usual 15-17 minutes per contest while Mike Muscala will chip away at some of those minutes after signing with the team on March 2. Williams averages 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists across 12.6 minutes so far this season.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward/center Jaylin Williams (knee) won't play on Wednesday versus Portland. It will be the third consecutive game he will be out with a left knee sprain. Williams is one of the best rebounders on the Thunder. As a struggling rebound team, OKC has missed the 21-year-old. Bismack Biyombo and Mike Muscala will have to step up instead of Williams. However, Biyombo and Muscala are not factors in fantasy play.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward/center Jaylin Williams (knee) won't play on Monday versus the Lakers. He's out for a second consecutive game with a left knee sprain. Williams has been a good energy guy off the bench and one of the best rebounders on the team. A struggling rebounding team like OKC will definitely feel his absence. Bismack Biyombo and Mike Muscala will have a chance to get extra work without Williams, but they aren't fantasy-relevant.

Oklahoma City Thunder center/forward Jaylin Williams is now officially available for the team's first in-season tournament game against the Golden State Warriors. The young big man is making his season debut after having to sit out the team's first five games due to a hamstring issue. He'll likely take away some minutes from Ousmane Dieng and Olivier Sarr, but Chet Holmgren will remain in the starting lineup. If any fantasy managers in very deep leagues are in need of some rebounding, Williams is a solid option and likely available on the waiver wire.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Jaylin Williams (hamstring) has yet to appear in a regular season game due to a right hamstring strain. The second-year big man is officially listed as questionable for the Friday game against the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 5.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists across 18.7 minutes per game last season. The big difference was that Chet Holmgren was out all of last year and Williams isn't expected to steal that many opportunities away from him. If he does suit up, the rotation shouldn't change that much outside of a small distribution change for backup minutes.

It's funny that every year at the NBA Draft, once the end of the guaranteed money and live appearances arrives at the end of the first round, everybody tunes out and refers to the 60th pick as "Mr. Irrelevant." That's not very accurate though, is it?Speaking historically, the title of "Mr. Irrelevant" could just as easily be applied to each pick in the draft, as organizations differ greatly in their evaluation of talent and their own needs, particularly in a year without the NCAA tournament. The nickname just doesn't reflect how basketball works anymore. Executives strategically stockpile second-round draft picks for the less burdensome financial obligations, and organizations in rebuilding mode get super creative to field a respectable team on a budget.Particularly in the NBA where worldwide talent is plentiful and positional lines continue to fade, the opportunity is everything: in the right situation, the right under-the-radar player can make an immediate, poignant statement. With professional development leagues for 16-18-year-olds, an ever-expanding set of domestic/international opportunities due to the sheer growth of basketball, and widespread NIL rights for college athletes, players of all levels and localities are starting to get their due exposure and now have enough freedom to hone their skills in a place, and at a pace, that fits best with their path to the NBA. 

Introduction

I am inherently skeptical and distrusting of scouting from the high school level to pre-Draft. That's why in this annual article, I tend to favor overlooked college players (love the mid-majors/non-power conferences) with either well-rounded, polished games or specific statistical specialties.We are going to discuss a handful of 2023 second-round picks and undrafted free agent signees who, given their individual skillsets and circumstances, warrant the attention of Fantasy Basketball Managers as potential high-impact rookies for the 2023-24 campaign who can quietly be acquired on clearance once they start showing signs of emergence.As I will frequently emphasize and reiterate: in 2023, there is very little difference between the vast majority of second-round draft picks and undrafted free agents--it always all comes down to the skillsets they possess, their capacity for growth, and the situations they've landed in.Seasons will be made and broken with early identification of the diamond-in-the-rough rookies. I used to list out the many examples from the past season in this introduction portion, but we are now in a beautiful era where there are just too many to count. There is also very little separating the featured players below and those dubbed "Honorable Mentions"--so put in the work and keep an eye out throughout the regular season for who is receiving and seizing their opportunities. 

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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (hamstring) will be sidelined for the beginning of the regular season. On Tuesday, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said Williams is dealing with a hamstring strain and he'll be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks. It appears Williams suffered the injury in practice and the team will take the cautious approach and hold him out for some time. Ousmane Dieng and Aleksej Pokusevski are candidates to receive extended playing time with Williams being sidelined. Between the two, Pokusevski looks to have better upside, but the Thunder are likely to shake up their rotation quite often this season.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward/center Jaylin Williams opened the 2023 Summer League action with a very good performance, scoring a game-high 21 points in a 95-85 victory over Utah. He was on a roll from deep with a 3-for-5 effort and finished 8-for-14 overall from the field in just 22 minutes of action. Williams completed his line with four rebounds, two assists, and one block. The 21-year-old had a solid rookie campaign last season and got better as the campaign progressed, even breaking into the starting unit. Williams had 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds as a starter in 2022-23, but his shooting was inconsistent and that's definitely something he needs to improve. Monday's outing was very promising in that regard.

Oklahoma City Thunder center Jaylin Williams (ankle) will suit up for Thursday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The rookie big man will be back in action after missing the last three games due to a sprained ankle. He'll draw a tough matchup against Joel Embiid during his first game back. That being said, Williams won't be a great streaming option for Thursday's slate. Eugene Omoruyi will head back to the second unit and won't have much fantasy appeal with Williams healthy again.