Jalen Williams enters the 2026-27 season with something he hasn’t had much of lately: a clean runway.
After a year that was defined by injuries, missed games, and uneven production, the Thunder wing said during a recent interview at his youth camp in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that the downtime has left him with "a lot more enthusiasm" to get back on the floor. He also admitted he’s been "bored all summer" while waiting for the season to begin.
That eagerness makes sense. Williams was limited to just 33 games in 2025-26 because of lingering effects from offseason wrist surgery last summer and repeated hamstring strains.
Even when he played, he wasn’t quite himself. His three-point shot dipped to 29.9 percent, a steep drop from the 38.2 percent he had posted over the previous three seasons, and his 3.3 turnovers per 100 possessions were a career worst.
Still, the broader shape of his game never disappeared. In limited minutes, he continued to do a little bit of everything, averaging 17.1 points, 5.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in a career-low 28.2 minutes per night.
Now heading into his fifth NBA season, Williams said he’s ready to make use of the work he’s put in while sidelined, describing it as "working out for basically a year without playing." For Oklahoma City, that could mean getting a major boost without changing a thing.
If Williams is healthy and stays that way, the Thunder may have made the biggest addition in the league simply by getting him back. Even with him out of the lineup much of last season, Oklahoma City still finished as the West’s No. 1 seed for a third straight year and fell just one win short of a second straight trip to the NBA Finals.
And when he did get on the floor in the playoffs, he looked like the version that changes games for OKC. Williams averaged 20.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting 61.5 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three in the first round against the Suns, helping the Thunder jump out to a 2-0 series lead. With him on the court, Oklahoma City ranked in the 88 percentile in point differential and the 91 percentile in opponent points per 100 possessions.
That’s the reminder hanging over this season: when Jalen Williams is right, the Thunder are better in every way.
In Other News...
Thunder Face A Lu Dort Problem That Goes Beyond Defense
The Thunders offseason shakeup left more than one hole to fill, but Lu Dorts exit may be the toughest to replace in ways that dont show up first on a scouting report. He was a regular starter, a First Team All-Defense selection in 2024-25 and one of the leagues most disruptive perimeter defenders, which is exactly why Cason Wallace is the natural name to surface as the next man up on that side of the ball.
Still, Dort gave Oklahoma City something extra that made him harder to replace than a pure stopper. His rebounding from the guard spot helped the Thunder finish possessions and get out in transition, and thats where the concern starts to widen beyond simple defense. Wallace can chase wings and pressure the ball, but the Thunder will have to find another way to make up for the second chances Dort created. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder May Face A Brutal Choice To Keep This Contender Together
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The pressure is only going to get sharper as the team plans for long-term sustainability and searches for ways to keep enough depth around its stars. Oklahoma City has already shown a willingness to make tough roster decisions when the math demands it, and the challenge now is balancing a championship window with the kind of financial strain that can force even the best teams into painful choices. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Fans Suddenly Have A Real Reason To Revisit Westbrooks Retirement
Russell Westbrooks retirement announcement landed with real shock value, especially for fans who had grown used to seeing the former Thunder star find one more chapter somewhere in the NBA. His last stop came with the Sacramento Kings, and even after that, there was reported curiosity about a possible return for a second season. Instead, Westbrook made the decision public himself, and the news immediately sent people back through the what-ifs tied to one of the most familiar names in Oklahoma City basketball history.
Now the conversation has started to drift again toward whether the retirement is truly final. Zach Randolph has already floated the idea that Westbrook could still change course and come back to the league, which is enough to keep Thunder fans paying attention even without anything concrete in place. For a player whose career has always carried momentum, noise and constant movement, the idea of an exit may not feel settled yet. [Read more 🡒]