Jalen Williams Makes Long-awaited Return for OKC Thunder

In the Oklahoma City Thunder's 11th consecutive victory, 19th in 20 games, against the Phoenix Suns Friday night in the Emirates NBA Cup, OKC saw an All-NBA player return to the lineup for the first time this season. After missing 19 games recovering from offseason wrist surgery following an injury suffered against the Suns at the end of the regular season, guard Jalen Williams returned to the starting five.

Williams tore the scapholunate ligament in his right, dominant wrist, but still managed to play through the injury throughout Oklahoma City's run to the NBA title. He was expected to miss just the beginning of the season due to the surgery, but due to another procedure that removed a screw, his return was delayed by an additional month.

OKC dominated its competition despite missing such a valuable player in Williams, rolling to one of the strongest starts in NBA history: one not seen since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who would end the season 73-9. Now, adding a two-way star into the lineup will just make the team even stronger.

In his return, Williams showed expected rust shooting the basketball, but proved his impact everywhere else on the court. He assisted on eight made shots, grabbed four rebounds and tallied two steals and a block.

Struggling to find his shot, Williams scored 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting, but hit his lone three-point attempt. Getting his legs back under him and aiding another Thunder victory was what was important for Williams; he was able to do just that.

“Just pass the ball to the guys who’ve been playing. That was the goal tonight,” Williams said in the postgame press conference.

Passing the ball to his teammates was working well for the fourth-year forward throughout the night, especially to his draft classmate Chet Holmgren. In the early stages of the afternoon, Williams found Holmgren countless times through clever pick-and-roll reads, showcasing their lethal two-man game once again.

He also consistently hit open teammates across the perimeter after drawing multiple defenders with his gravity.

Williams's All-NBA-level defensive presence was felt immediately for the Thunder, with his sheer brilliance blowing up the Suns' offensive schemes throughout the game.

“Defense is very easy compared to offense, especially when you lose your right hand for five months,” Williams said.

His defense will just continue to improve as the rust wears off, along with his offense, as the best team in the NBA adds an All-NBA star back into its rotation as it wills throughout the regular season and NBA Cup.