The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without starters Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace for an extended period after both underwent surgery to repair injuries they suffered in Sunday’s win over the LA Clippers.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti announced Monday that Williams suffered a fractured fibula and a dislocated left ankle. Wallace tore the labrum in his left shoulder, Presti said. Both injuries typically require multiple months of rehabilitation, which puts the availability of both players in doubt for the rest of the season.
Williams suffers gruesome injury
Williams was fouled on a drive and landed awkwardly with 1:14 remaining in the game. His left leg collapsed, and his ankle bent at an unnatural angle. Medical personnel rushed to attend to him while his teammates and Clippers players reacted in shock. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander buried his face in his jersey and bent down near Williams.
Williams was placed on a stretcher and wheeled off the court to a standing ovation. He gave the crowd two thumbs-up as he was taken off. Williams, 25, was an All-Star and All-NBA selection two seasons ago, and he has endured a miserable stretch of injuries over the past 18 months.
Williams played the entire 2025 playoffs despite a torn ligament in his right (shooting) wrist that required surgery. He scored 40 points in the pivotal Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals, helping Oklahoma City win the championship. The recovery from the wrist surgery caused him to miss the first 19 games of last season, and recurring strains to both hamstrings ruined the rest of his campaign. He played only 33 regular-season games and sat out 10 of Oklahoma City’s 15 playoff games, exiting three others early. Williams is in the first season of a five-year, $239 million maximum contract he signed after the title.
Wallace hurt on screen
Wallace, 22, injured his shoulder in the first quarter against the Clippers. He went down after running into a moving screen set by Clippers center Isaiah Jackson. Wallace, an All-Defensive selection last season, had signed a five-year, $139 million contract extension just last week. He moved into the starting lineup on a regular basis after Oklahoma City traded Luguentz Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in a cost-cutting move over the summer.
Presti addresses the team’s future
Presti addressed the media at the Paycom Center on Monday evening and emphasized the organization’s support for both players.
“We’ll wrap our arms around these guys,” Presti said. “We’ll get them back, we’ll get them healthy, but we got a lot of basketball to play in front of us. We got to put it together, figure out what the next steps are because this is part of the business that we’re in.”
Presti acknowledged the difficult situation while expressing optimism about the recovery.
“Not going to sit up here and say this is exactly where we want to be or this is how we’d like to have it, but at the same time, we are extremely optimistic about the recovery for both players,” Presti said. “Most importantly, things could have been a lot worse. I think in these types of situations, it’s important to kind of take stock, take a step back, realize we’re dealing with people.
“… They’re going to be back out there. They’re going to be playing for our team. They’ll be representing our city and our state in short order.”