Williams, the Thunder's second-leading scorer behind SGA, sat out Games 3–5 of the Western Conference Finals and the entire second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. He first suffered the lingering injury in Game 2 against the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
He flashed his form in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, pouring in 26 points on 11-of-25 shooting to go with 7 assists and 3 rebounds. From Game 2 onward, however, his body repeatedly threw a spanner in the works. The injury flared up again in Game 2 and, despite the extended break, clearly hampered him in Game 6 as well.
Head coach Mark Daigneault underlined the point: "He's obviously not at 100 per cent." In Game 6, a 91-118 Thunder rout, Williams logged just one point and two turnovers in ten minutes.
He had already missed most of the regular season, appearing in only 33 games. The 25-year-old had already played through severe pain in last season's playoffs with a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist and needed surgery after winning the title. He told reporters he had received "28 or 29 injections" of lidocaine and cortisone just to stay on the floor.
Months of rehabilitation followed, and he returned to action only in late November.