OKC Thunder: Jalen Williams Searching for Bounce-Back Season After Injury-Plagued Campaign

The 2024-25 All-NBA wing played just 33 games in 2025-26.

Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) celebrates after scoring against the Phoenix Suns in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Following the 2025 NBA Finals, Oklahoma City Thunder star guard/forward Jalen Williams was nothing short of a hero. The wing fought and played through a torn wrist ligament the entire postseason, capping off his strong run with a 40-point game to lead the Thunder to a crucial win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

After electing to get surgery on said wrist, Williams missed the beginning of the following season as expected, but a follow-up procedure forced the star to miss more time. It wasn't until Nov. 28 when he appeared in his first game.

The Santa Clara product played in 24 consecutive games before another injury struck him in January. During a Jan 17 game against the Miami Heat, Williams's right hamstring tightened up, forcing him out of the game.

The strain would knock the star out for 10 consecutive games before returning on Feb. 9 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Williams looked the best he had looked all regular season in his two games back, but 20 minutes into the game against the Phoenix Suns, his second game back from injury, he reaggravated the same injury.

"Be patient. That's all I can do," Williams said in his end-of-season media availability. "You can work so hard to do something, and if it's not aligned with what God has going on, you've just got to wait."

Williams made his return over a month later, playing off-and-on in an attempt to be ready for playoff action.

To open the Thunder's first-round series against the Phoenix Suns, Williams looked phenomenal. The wing scored 22 points alongside seven rebounds and six assists in Game 1 and started on fire with 19 points in Game 2; the party ended early, however, as Williams injured his hamstring, this time his left.

The injury would knock out Williams for the remainder of the Thunder's first-round series against the Suns and the entire second-round series against the Lakers. He returned to action in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, being asked to carry a heavy load, playing 37 minutes in a double-overtime defeat.

"I get hurt, and then I'm playing Game 1 in the Western Conference Finals and I have to play a double overtime," Williams said. "A lot of that stress and stuff, you're playing the best basketball on the planet."

Williams reaggravated his left hamstring the following game, knocking him out for the rest of the postseason, except for a 10-minute cameo in Game 6, where he attempted to return prematurely.

After a season full of injuries and tests, Williams is poised for a bounce-back season in 2026-27. OKC will need the former All-NBA player if it wants to return to the NBA mountaintop.