Thunder star Jalen Williams will undergo offseason surgery for a torn ligament in his right wrist but is expected to fully recover in time for the 2025–26 season. He played through the injury during OKC’s title run, showcasing impressive resilience.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams will undergo offseason surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, an injury he played through during the team’s historic championship run, general manager Sam Presti confirmed Monday.
Points this season
Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA
Williams originally sustained the injury in a March 10 loss to the Denver Nuggets, which forced him to miss two weeks. Though he returned in time for the postseason, he played the remainder of the year with his right wrist heavily taped, hidden under his shooting sleeve.
Despite the injury, Williams averaged 21.4 points per game in the playoffs and delivered multiple clutch performances, including a career-playoff-high 40 points in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
Presti praised Williams’ resilience and professionalism, highlighting how the third-team All-NBA forward never used the injury as an excuse.
“The part that I'm most impressed with is in our modern era, when someone has a poor performance or they're not playing to their capability in a game and there's a lot of attention on it, you often see a little birdie make sure that everybody knows that the player is not 100%,” Presti said.
“Never happened with this guy, not one time. He powered through. He showed incredible mental endurance and security in himself.”
Williams struggled at times with his three-point shooting, connecting on just 30.4% from deep during the postseason—well below his career average of 38.2%—but he consistently bounced back with strong performances.
During the Western Conference semifinals, he went through a rough stretch—10/43 from the floor over three games against Denver—but downplayed the wrist’s role.
“That’s not the reason why I’m making or missing shots,” Williams said after a 3/16 outing in Game 6. “It hasn’t affected anything that’s been going on.”
He responded with a 24-point performance on 10-of-17 shooting in Game 7, and averaged 23.0 points per game in the final two playoff rounds.
Now 24 years old, Williams is eligible to sign a five-year rookie extension worth up to $247 million, which could escalate to $296 million if he qualifies for supermax incentives.
Presti confirmed that Williams is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp ahead of the 2025–26 season.
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