Thunder to Open Season Without Jalen Williams as Wrist Recovery Continues
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Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams will miss the defending champions’ regular-season opener against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday while he continues to rehab a surgically repaired right wrist, head coach Mark Daigneault confirmed Monday.
Daigneault offered no specific return date, saying only that the 24-year-old is “progressing” and remains “right on schedule.”
Williams tore the scapholunate ligament in the wrist on April 9 but postponed surgery until after Oklahoma City completed its championship run. During the postseason, he received nearly 30 pain-relief injections and averaged 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists, including a 40-point outburst in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
“It was a necessary evil to win,” Williams told ESPN recently. “I would’ve cut my hand off to win a championship.”
The third-team All-NBA and second-team All-Defensive selection underwent the procedure in early July, fully aware he might not be ready for opening night. He did not resume shooting with his right hand until this month.
Williams, who signed a maximum rookie-scale extension with supermax triggers over the summer, declined to outline a recovery timeline. “Whenever I feel like I can be a hundred percent, then I’ll rock out,” he said during the preseason. “Part of the process is just figuring out how to get my jump shot back. A lot of it is just trying to get feel back.”
Oklahoma City begins its title defense Tuesday at Paycom Center without its starting forward, relying on the remainder of last season’s core until Williams is cleared for game action.
Source: ESPN
