Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams has been ruled out for Saturday night’s pivotal Game 7 matchup against the San Antonio Spurs following a disappointing return to action in the previous game of the Western Conference finals.
The 25-year-old guard, who worsened a left hamstring injury during Game 2 and missed the following three games, returned to the court for a limited 10-minute stint in Game 6. His performance was lackluster, missing his only field goal attempt while making one free throw, turning the ball over twice, and posting a minus-18 rating.
Following his team’s 118-91 defeat on Thursday, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault addressed Williams’ condition. “He’s obviously not 100%,” Daigneault explained. “He didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what to expect. So, it was a matter of getting him out there in kind of an insulated role and see what he can bring to the team.”
The coach continued to praise Williams’ dedication despite his physical limitations. “He’s an All-Star player, he’s an All-NBA player. He hasn’t done a full return-to-play (protocol) like he would if this was the regular season, and yet, he just wants to do whatever he can to try to contribute whatever he can to the team.”
The Thunder officially declared Williams unavailable on Friday evening’s injury report, joining Ajay Mitchell, who was previously sidelined for the entire series due to a soleus strain.
Williams earned third-team All-NBA honors for the 2024-25 season, posting averages of 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the regular season before contributing to the Thunder’s championship run alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.
Injuries to his wrist and hamstring restricted Williams to just 33 regular season appearances in 2025-26, during which he averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds per contest. Throughout five playoff games this postseason — including the opening two contests against Phoenix and Games 1, 2 and 6 versus San Antonio — he has contributed 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists while shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc.
