Even with three months passed, Jalen Williams’ wrist injury has only grown in legend. The All-NBA talent gritted his teeth through pain and received daily numbing shots to ensure he wouldn’t miss any of the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s playoff run to an NBA championship.
As the Thunder prepare to flip the page onto the 2025-26 regular season, Williams reflected on his addition to the OKC mythos. He spoke to the media for the first time on Media Day since celebrating in downtown OKC during their championship parade.
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“I think it was a good like blessing in disguise, though. It allowed me more to take care of my body and like not go full throttle,” Williams said. “With the short offseason it’s kind of hard to like manage how much you want to work out. So it actually made me take a break which was nice.”
It was a quick summer for the Thunder. Only three months have passed since they brought home the Larry O’Brien trophy in a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers during the 2025 NBA Finals. After undergoing surgery to repair his wrist, Williams only recently shed his brace as he hopes to be ready for Opening Night.
“Still got some ways to go with it, for sure. But yeah, I got work in. It forced me to be really creative, me and my trainers who I had in my camp,” Williams said. “It’s hard to do the same drills over and over again especially when you’re in a cast. So we got pretty creative as the summer progressed.”
Regardless of his status against the Houston Rockets to kick things off, Williams has stamped his spot as one of the league’s best players. A breakout season last year capped off with a championship ring. Dealing with an injured wrist is easily a price worth paying.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jalen Williams gives update on wrist, calls it ‘blessing in disguise’