OKC Thunder Starter Upgraded Ahead of Bout with Hornets

The Thunder will take on the Hornets tonight, with both teams seeing starters out.

Oct 30, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault gestures to his team during a play against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Thunder are set to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, hoping to avoid just its second loss of the 2025-26 season.

So far, Oklahoma City sits at a league-best 12-1, having only suffered a late loss to the Portland Trail Blazers last week. Most recently, OKC saw back-to-back blowout wins over the Warriors and Lakers, fueling plenty of narratives around the team's dominance so far.

Despite that, the Thunder are still fairly undermanned, with players like Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams, Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, Chet Holmgren and plenty more missing multiple games this season.

The Hornets are in a similar spot, though their 2025 draft class has more than picked up the slack in the absence of other top performers. Rookie Kon Knueppel is averaging a rookie-best 17.9 points, and center Ryan Kalkbrenner has seen an absurdly efficient start from the field.

Here are the injury reports for both the Thunder and Hornets ahead of tonight's game:

OKC Thunder injuries:

Luguentz Dort — Available: Right upper trap

Thomas Sorber — Out: Right ACL

Nikola Topic — Out: N/A

Aaron Wiggins — Out: Left adductor strain

Jalen Williams — Out: Right wrist

Kenrich Williams — Out: Left knee

Jaylin Williams — Out: Left shoulder soreness

Charlotte Hornets injuries:

LaMelo Ball — Out: Right ankle

Josh Green — Out: Left shoulder

Liam McNeeley — Out: Illness

Brandon Miller — Out: Left shoulder

Drew Peterson — Out: G League

Tidjane Salaun — Out: G League

KJ Simpson — Probable: Left AC joint

Grant Williams — Out: Right knee

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Both the Thunder and Hornets have fairly lengthy injury reports, with multiple starters and rotational contributors slated to miss tonight’s game. 

OKC continues to be without All-NBA forward Jalen Williams as he works his way back from a wrist injury suffered in last year’s Finals run, though he’s now past the re-evaluation window on his most recent follow-up procedure.

Stingy defender Luguentz Dort, who has missed five-straight games, has been upgraded from out to available for tonight’s game versus Charlotte. Dort' return is big against the Hornets, who have seen guard scorers step up due to injury.

Other pieces out for Oklahoma City include one of the team’s top scorers in Aaron Wiggins, as well as two-way forward Kenrich Williams. Jaylin Williams will miss tonight's game with shoulder soreness.

The Hornets’ star point guard in LaMelo Ball is listed as out for tonight after playing an overtime NBA Cup bout versus the Bucks last night. His co-star in forward Brandon Miller is also out with a shoulder injury.

The Thunder and Hornets tip off at 6 p.m. CT.