Jalen Williams played a major role in bringing an NBA championship to Oklahoma City this past season. But the Thunder may have to start next season with their second-leading scorer on the shelf, depending on how the 23-year-old shooting guard recovers from wrist surgery.
Will Jalen Williams Be Available To Start Next NBA Season?
It was revealed on Tuesday that Williams played through an injury at the end of the season. Thunder general manager said that Williams suffered a torn ligament in his wrist sometime around the end of the regular season, and pointed out that the third-year player enjoyed some of his best basketball after sustaining the ailment.
Presti on JDub having wrist surgery. pic.twitter.com/NLTv0aoGog
— Jeremie Poplin (@jeremiepoplin) June 30, 2025
In specific, the procedure will repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist. The injury was caused during a win over the Phoenix Suns on April 9th.
In addition to the announcement of the surgery, the Thunder also gave a timetable for a potential return to action. The official prognosis is that Williams will be re-evaluated in 12 weeks, which would be on October 1st, 2025.
That is around the time that the Thunder and the rest of the teams around the NBA will be starting next season’s training camp, and it remains to be seen whether Williams will be available for it. There isn’t any concern yet on whether he’ll miss any time when the season officially starts in late October, and Williams’ availability will hinge on what the prognosis is when he is re-evaluated.
jalen williams did all this in his 3rd season 👏 pic.twitter.com/WxXofiShwz
— buckets (@buckets) June 23, 2025
After finishing in second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022-23, Jalen Williams had his true breakout season in 2024-25. He averaged 21.6 points per game in the regular season, was named to his first All-Star Game, and made the third All-NBA team. He was also named to the second-team All-Defense.
In the NBA Finals, Williams upped his scoring output to 23.6 points per game for the seven game series, including a 40-point performance in Game 5.
