NBA star's newest superfan is his girlfriend's sports-agnostic grandma
Grandma didn't care for sports. Now she's got Jaylin William's game schedule on the fridge.

NBA star Jaylin Williams' newest and biggest fan is his girlfriend's grandma
It's a tall task for anyone to integrate themselves into their partner's family. You need to thread the needle of being polite and likable, but you can't be a pushover. The family has to respect you and view you as a good match for their daughter or son. And then there are individual relationships to build and nurture with each member of the family.
When you're a celebrity and your partner is a mostly regular person? It must be doubly hard. Once the razzle dazzle of being starstruck has worn off, family members are bound to have a lot of questions about your sincerity and your intentions.
Alanna Harris recently shared that her boyfriend, NBA player Jaylin Williams, has done an excellent job of becoming part of her family. He has hit it off with one surprising person, in particular: Her grandma.
Jaylin Williams, winning on the court and with the grandmasGiphy
Jaylin Williams is an up and coming player for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder selected Williams in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft. While he's not as famous as, say, Lebron James, he's a good player who's really making a name for himself in the league. That comes with a lot of notoriety.
Harris' grandma, she says, never cared about sports, and thus had no idea who Williams was. At first. Now, she's his biggest fan. Harris posted an adorable slideshow of the two of them together on her TikTok page:
The first photo shows Harris' grandmother standing side by side with Williams, both with an arm thrown around each other. Williams' 6' 9" stature is readily apparent.
Next up is Grandma watching one of Williams' games on her phone, using a magnifying glass on the small screen. (Harris joked she was "keeping her eye out for another triple double.")
Then we've got Williams' upcoming game schedule, hand transcribed by Grandma and placed onto the fridge with a magnet (the paper is aptly titled "Basket Ball")
View the photos here.
The relationship and fandom goes ever deeper than the photos show.
"Sometimes it's hard for her to tell the players apart when she's watching on her phone because it's so tiny, so she will ask Jaylin to wear bright shoes so it's easier for her to find him," Harris told Newsweek. "He always does."
Grandma also has plenty of thoughts and opinions on how well (or not) Williams is playing in any given game.
"Sometimes she will call me during the game and ask if I can tell Jaylin he needs to shoot more when I text him at half time. I'm like, 'Grandma, the coaches know what they're doing.'"
But even though she's tough on Williams, she's still his biggest fan and defender. Harris says her grandma spends hours in Oklahoma City Thunder Facebook groups nobly defending Williams against haters and trolls.
Commenters couldn't get over the wholesome story of this improbable duo.
"Stop this is adorable"
"I know granny loved the triple double"
"The magnifying glass omg so cute"
"Grandma just tryna make sure her parlays hit," one user joked.
A user who claimed they worked for the Thunder even offered for Grandma to stop by during the next game and she'd get her a proper fridge magnet schedule. But I don't know, I kind of like the handwritten one!
Harris' post has over 5 million views and thousands of comments, both from fans of Williams and people who just love a heartwarming story.
@alanna.harris like lets be so fr
Some say our culture has an unhealthy obsession over when celebrities date normal people, or "muggles." But we also have a perfectly normal and unstoppable obsession with adorable grandmas making friends with unexpected people.
Maybe it's because grandparents come from an older generation and, having a wealth of experience and wisdom, have far less of a filter. Grandma will let you know in no uncertain terms if she doesn't like you, and she does not have the time to put on a performance for her granddaughter's sake. So, you know the relationship is pure and genuine, as is granny's growing love of basketball. It's incredibly sweet that they've both put in the time and effort to get to know each other, and that all that effort is paying off in the family growing just a little bit bigger.