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The Oklahoma City Thunder open the 2025-26 campaign against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, but they'll be without All-Star forward Jalen Williams.
According to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Williams won't start the season on the active roster after undergoing offseason surgery on his right wrist. While the Thunder have yet to provide a clear timetable for his return, he isn't expected to miss an extended period.
Still, the 24-year-old's absence is a huge loss for the defending champions, who will likely turn to Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace to help pick up the slack. Williams will join Nikola Topic, Isaiah Joe, Kenrich Williams and Thomas Sorber — who has already been ruled out for the entire season due to a torn ACL — on the sideline.
What we know about Jalen Williams’ wrist injury
Thunder general manager Sam Presti said June 30 that Williams tore a ligament in his wrist during the team's back-to-back set on April 8-9. He missed Oklahoma City's final two regular-season games with what the team labeled a right hip strain before returning for the playoffs.
Jalen Williams will have surgery on his wrist.
Presti said how impressed with JDub he was. The injury happened in the Lakers/Suns back to back and played 2 months with the injury.
It's a ligament tear. It's not an injury that he'll have a hard time recovering from. "It's pretty…
Williams didn't miss a single game in the postseason, during which he averaged 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals across 34.6 minutes per game. However, he ultimately underwent surgery July 1.
According to Clemente Almanza of OKC Thunder Wire, the Santa Clara product shed his wrist brace in late September and was back to dribbling with both hands and shooting. It appears he'll need a bit more time to ramp up in practice before making his season debut, and with a long season ahead, the Thunder will prioritize getting him back to full health before unleashing him.
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