Jalen Williams' Offensive Revival a Work in Progress Following Wrist Injury for OKC Thunder

Since Jalen Williams' return from a wrist injury that had continued to bother him all the way from the OKC Thunder's NBA Finals run, he hasn't looked the same.

And it seems like the vast majority of the casual NBA audience has noticed and are putting quite a lot of pressure on him to improve in a certain amount of time. Now, typically one should not pay any mind to these types of personalities—but when you see a significant drop in play from a talent with as high of a caliber as Williams, it is definitely noticeable.

When he's dropping just six points on 2-for-11 shooting against the Houston Rockets, your eyebrows do raise a little after what you saw from him in Game 5 of the Finals a year ago. But this isn't a regular injury, this has been an injury to his dominant shooting hand, an injury that required surgery and has continued to linger as he rehabs and heals.

And for that, he deserves a lot of grace for going out there and competing, even still at a very high level on the offensive end. Putting up 17.2 points per game on 46.8% shooting and 27.6% from three in 23 games, that's definitely a regression from his All-Star level play a year ago. But he's doing this with a recovering shooting wrist.

It's akin to how Oklahoma football's quarterback John Mateer broke his thumb on his throwing hand this past season, only to go out and compete 17 days later while, of course, not nearly playing at the same level as he once did pre-injury.

Jalen Williams drives — Jan 13, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard/forward Jalen Williams (8) drives down the court beside San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox (4) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

It's difficult to bounce back from a hindrance in general, but when it affects the exact function you need to perform at the highest of your game, it's no question why the impact seems so large. And in Williams' case, he's actually performed at a pretty high level considering all this.

As of recent, 17.3 points while making half of his shot attempts on average in the month of January has helped Oklahoma City get back on track following a few losses. Still, the three-point shot has yet to make its way back into his game thus far, shooting just 17.6% from that area on only 2.1 tries per game—but he's steadily improving, steadily getting back into his groove.

Williams deserves some grace throughout this period, it's a grind to recover. And when he strikes back, there shouldn't be a lot to say from the crowd who's ignored the effects of his injury to this point.