Jan. 18, 2026, 12:06 a.m. CT
Driving to the basket, Jalen Williams immediately knew something was wrong. He grabbed his hamstring and asked for a substitution. Hobbling to the locker room, his injury clouded the Oklahoma City Thunder for the rest of the way in their 122-120 loss to the Miami Heat.
Williams sustained the injury in the second quarter. Ajay Mitchell started the second half in his place. Eventually, the Thunder ruled him out for the remainder of the game due to right thigh soreness.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said afterward they’ll know more in the morning. Everybody in OKC is holding its breath. He had eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes before he was injured.
Over the last handful of games, Williams has played his best basketball of the season. He’s continued to work back from his surgically-repaired wrist. Now, you hope he doesn’t miss too much time with his injury.
If so, that obviously is a bummer for the Thunder. Williams missed OKC’s first 19 games recovering from his torn wrist ligaments that he played through in their championship run these past playoffs. They went 18-1 in that stretch.
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