Veteran OKC Thunder Forward Still Looking to Find Rhythm

Oklahoma City has had a near-perfect two months to begin the season, but one of the team’s longest-tenured players is still struggling to find his role.

Throughout the Thunder’s first 26 games, they have dealt with numerous injuries and are yet to have a clean injury report among rotation players this season. While Jalen Williams’ early-season absence caught most of the headlines regarding Oklahoma City’s injury news to begin the year, Kenrich Williams also missed a sizeable amount of time at the beginning of the season recovering from knee surgery.

Making his debut on Nov. 26 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Williams stepped back onto the floor for 12 minutes of action. Although he didn’t do much that night, simply getting back into game shape and finding a rhythm was the main priority immediately after his return.

Now, with seven games under his belt, there are still some big questions about what Williams’ role will be throughout this season. Just a few years ago, Williams was an occasional starter and a significant piece of Oklahoma City’s frontcourt puzzle.

However, things have changed drastically from the days when Williams was a go-to option as a small-ball center. With so much depth in the frontcourt and on the wings, the Thunder’s need for Williams to play big minutes is gone, but the TCU product still has his moments and has been such an important figure for the Thunder for quite some time.

Dec 5, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kenrich Williams (34) goes up for a basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Averaging six points a game in 16 minutes this season, Williams has played a solid amount of his minutes after the Thunder have put games out of reach. Getting a DNP in the Thunder’s NBA Cup semifinal matchup in Vegas, Williams’ spot in the rotation is far from guaranteed, even in the regular season where Mark Daigneault loves to experiment and use an abundance of players.

With his role seeming to decline again this season, Williams has struggled to show he can be a key contributor and part of the rotation when things matter most. Already taken out of the playoff rotation almost entirely over the past two seasons, Williams hasn’t been a significant part of what Oklahoma City wants to do on the floor.

Still, if he can continue to shoot around his current 46.7% mark from three and give the Thunder some valuable minutes as a hustle forward from time to time throughout the regular season, there’s certainly still an opportunity for Williams to work his way back into the regular rotation in his sixth season in Oklahoma City.