Jalen Williams Flashing Encouraging Signs in Return for OKC Thunder

There were always going to be questions regarding Jalen Williams' ramp up process. This has been an unkind season for the Santa Clara product.

First Williams had to get over the hurdle of offseason wrist surgery. Dazzling in the playoffs, including a 40 point game in the NBA Finals, with torn ligaments in his wrist. After he repaired his wrist he was sidelined for the start of the 2025-26 campaign not making his debut until Nov. 28 against the Phoenix Suns. He wasn't exactly clicking on all cylinders. The All-NBA swingman discussed the rehab process with a lack of gripe strength and range of motion.

The consistency of Williams' season has been his sharp defense as an All-Defensive swiss army knife and his playmaking. Routinely posting five plus assists to get his teammates going, even when his scoring has not been there this season.

In January, the fourth year forward suffered his first of two Hamstring strains. Williams would miss ten games during his first battle with a hamstring strain then 16 more for his second stint on the injury report.

So far this season, the 24-year-old has only logged minutes in 30 games this season. It has been hard to find a rhythm being in and out of the rotation due to injuries.

"Just getting my feet underneath me. Getting more and more comfortable again, to be honest. It's not like anything they did or didn't do. Just getting back to being fully ready to go," Williams explained. "My minutes have gotten extended a lot, so I've been able to play pretty close to my normal stretch of rhythm."

The Thunder have seen Williams return from his latest run in with hamstring issues in four games, averaging 16.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and half a steal per game while shooting 50% from the floor and going 2-for-9 from beyond the arc with a pleasantly surprising 17 attempts at the charity stripe.

"My hand feels fine, to be honest. Like I've said before, low-key having my first hamstring injury helped me work through it. It just gave me more time to shoot. That was the hardest part," Williams detailed. "Going through the whole summer not being able to shoot and then coming in with a week of practice and then playing. That was what made it hard to work through my hand thing. But having time off with the hamstring allowed me to get up shots up."

Watching Williams in his return he is not moving as if he is coming back from a hamstring injury. He is exploding on cuts to the rim, racing out in transition and getting to his spots in the half court. At times his touch has wained in his comeback which is to be expected after his long layoff. The All-NBA swingman has time to get his groove back on his shot and his sentiment on his hand and wrist feeling fine is more than encouraging moving forward. Along with how well he is moving on the floor.