OKC Thunder Offer Health Update on Jalen Williams

The Thunder are off to a 6-0 start in the 2025-26 regular season, their second-best start to a season in franchise history, only trailing last year’s championship squad.

Even more, they’ve done so without one of their stars in Jalen Williams, who was named an All-Star, All-Defense and All-NBA player last season en route to a championship.

Williams injured his wrist in last year’s postseason run, but played through, eventually coming through with star-level scoring, versatile defense and a 40-point bomb in Game 5 of the Finals. He dealt with that over the offseason, undergoing surgery.

On Friday afternoon, the Thunder offered a health update Williams. Per the organization, Williams underwent a follow-up procedure on his right wrist to remove a screw that was creating irritation during the final stage os his return to play process.

Jalen Williams update per Thunder PR:

Jalen Williams underwent a follow-up procedure on his right wrist to remove a screw that was creating irritation during the final stages of his return to play process.
— Derek Parker (@DParkOK) October 31, 2025

In a follow-up tweet, the Thunder said the procedure was performed by Dr. Steven Shin, with team medical personnel present, and that Williams will be re-evaluated in 10-to-14 days.

The update offers both good and bad news for Thunder fans, as Williams was indeed in the final stretches of return-to-play, though the follow-up procedure is set to keep him out at least a few more weeks. In the least, we now have somewhat of a timeline for Williams given his reevaluation.

The Thunder have desperately missed Williams' offensive spark, though its defense has carried the undefeated season. They rank No. 1 in the league in team defensive rating, but could certainly use Williams' 21.6 points per game, especially from beyond the arc.

Guard Ajay Mitchell has stepped up in Williams' absence, averaging 18.5 points on 46% shooting overall, up from just 6.5 points per game last season.

The Thunder have more one of the more injury-ridden teams in the league thus far, with Williams yet to play, and players like Alex Caruso, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Kenrich Williams, Isaiah Joe and more missing games.

Should Williams be green-lit around his reevaluation, his return would happen in mid-November. The Thunder take on the Hornets and Pelicans on the road, meaning a home bout versus the Kings on Nov. 19 could make the most sense.

For now, OKC will look to move to 7-0 for the second time in franchise history with a win over the Pelicans Sunday. Should they beat winless New Orleans, they'll have the opportunity to move to 8-0 for the first time ever versus the LA Clippers.