Jalen Williams, the star forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder, will have surgery to fix a torn ligament in his right wrist. He has been dealing with this injury while helping his team during their championship run, according to general manager Sam Presti on Monday.
Williams, who was named to the third-team All-NBA, hurt his wrist during a game against the Denver Nuggets on March 10 and missed two weeks afterward. Presti mentioned that Williams is likely to recover completely and should be ready for the beginning of the 2025-26 season.
Williams finished the season with his right wrist heavily taped, but he hid the tape under the shooting sleeve on his arm.
He scored an average of 21.4 points per game as the Thunder moved towards their first title in Oklahoma City, which included a standout 40-point game that helped secure a crucial win against the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
“What impresses me the most is that in today’s world, when a player has a bad game or isn’t performing well, there’s often someone who makes sure everyone knows that the player isn’t at full strength,” Presti told reporters during his end-of-season media session in Oklahoma City.
“That never happened with this guy, not even once. He pushed through it. He displayed amazing mental strength and confidence in himself.”
During the playoffs, Williams had some trouble with his shooting, hitting only 30.4% from beyond the arc throughout the 23-game stretch, which was much lower than his career average of 38.2%.
After experiencing his worst shooting slump during the Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets—where he shot just 10-of-43 over three games—Williams was asked about his wrist injury. At that moment, he downplayed how much it affected him.
“That’s not why I’m making or missing shots,” Williams stated after he went 3-for-16 in the Thunder’s Game 6 defeat against Denver. “It hasn’t changed anything that’s happening.”
In response, Williams scored 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting during the Thunder’s Game 7 victory over the Nuggets. He averaged 23.0 points per game in the last two rounds, hitting 45.8% of his shots and 35.7% from beyond the arc.
He set a career playoff high with 34 points in a Game 4 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves and then surpassed that with a 40-point performance in the Finals.
At just 24 years old, Williams can sign an extension to his rookie contract this offseason worth up to $247 million over five years, with possible supermax bonuses that could raise it to $296 million.
