Jalen Williams to Have Surgery After Horrible Injury, Update on Thunder Star’s Return Timetable

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be without star Jalen Williams for the foreseeable future.

General manager Sam Presti told reporters Monday that he suffered a fractured fibula and dislocated left ankle in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Presti explained that Williams will need surgery and the exact timetable for his return will be known after the operation.

Williams suffered a gruesome injury with less than two minutes left in Sunday’s game when he attempted an attempt at the rim and collided with Kris Dunn. He was injured when he fell awkwardly and was stretchered off the field.

The Thunder crowd chanted his name as he lay on a stretcher.

Teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was emotional after the game and said in an interview: “I don’t even know. I just feel bad for him. Nothing more. … It’s obviously going to be tough without a player like that. But he’s not gone forever, he’ll come back better than ever and we know that. We just have to hold down the fort until he comes back.”

Williams’ setback was all the more notable as he faced injury issues throughout the 2025-26 campaign.

He only appeared in 33 regular season games due to wrist and hamstring injuries, then played in only five OKC playoff games. His absence was a significant factor in the team’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

Unfortunately for the Thunder, Williams isn’t the only injury situation they’re dealing with early in the season.

Presti said Cason Wallace suffered a left labral tear in his shoulder and will also require surgery with an exact timeline to be determined.

“I like to say it, and we say it all the time within our walls,” Presti continued. “There’s a difference between being positive and being optimistic. I’m not going to sit here and say this is exactly where we want to be or this is how we would like things to be there, but at the same time, we are extremely optimistic about both players’ recovery. More importantly, things could have been a lot worse.”

He also said his focus was on “the people” over the past 24 hours:

ESPN’s Bobby Marks added context to possible roster moves if Oklahoma City chooses to respond:

The Thunder reached the Western Conference Finals last season despite Williams being injured, but will be missing two important pieces of their roster for the foreseeable future following those setbacks.