A first-time All-Star in his third season, and an NBA Champion as well, Jalen Williams has a lot to be happy about in the offseason. However, the guard is planning to undergo surgery on his right wrist, which he injured heading into the final stretch of the 2024-25 season. All this time, the Thunder guard was playing through injury after all and is now set to have it fixed.

Williams did not miss a single game in the 2025 Playoffs, playing all 23 postseason games and helping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren lead the way for a promising championship in the 2025 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers. The Thunder eventually finished with a wire-to-wire victory in Game 7 to claim their first league title in OKC.

In an end-of-season presser, Thunder GM Sam Presti discussed how the Thunder played through a lot of injuries for most of the season – and yet still managed to win 68 games. He also claimed that Williams was inactive for the final two games of the season after playing 36 minutes in a 125-112 victory over Phoenix on April 9. He opted to rest his wrist, but had to play through pain in the playoffs.

An Injured Williams Performing

Williams kept a brace in his wrist – which also happened to be his shooting hand at times in the playoffs. It was even taped during games, and that may have been one of the reasons why he shot poorly from three at 30% in the postseason – which is 6% off his season percentage.

There were also a lot of times when Williams had a very rough game, especially against the Denver Nuggets. He was criticized well for not being able to show up in multiple closeout games against the Nuggets and the Pacers in both Game Sixes.

“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 during his season-ending meeting with reporters. “Never happened with this guy, not one time. He powered through. He showed incredible mental endurance and security in himself.”

If you are not impressed, Williams also powered a massive 40-point burst in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to help the Thunder take a 3-2 series lead. He was even in the conversations for the Finals MVP alongside SGA before Game 7.

Thunder Injuries Addressed

OKC was one of many teams that didn’t play at full strength for the 2024-25 season. Isaiah Hartenstein injured his finger before the campaign while Chet Holmgren was out after just 10 games and missed a huge chunk of the season.

There’s also multiple injuries to SGA and even Williams himself, but the Thunder still found ways to win, which is such an impressive way to talk about a team that eventually ended up winning the championship.

As the 2025-26 looms ahead, the Thunder seek to stay healthy and in shape as they also gear up for their first title defense and prove that their win was not a fluke, but rather a hope that they can start a dynasty of winning and the continuation of the arrival they’ve been looking forward for years.