The Thunder’s latest injury update has turned what looked like a promising early chapter for Otega Oweh into a brutal pause button.
On Wednesday night, Oklahoma City announced that the wing tore his Achilles tendon in the team’s recent preseason game against the Pacers. The injury will keep him out for the entire 2026-27 NBA season. For a player who had been building momentum toward earning the 15th spot on the Thunder roster, the timing could hardly be worse.
Oweh had signed a two-way deal shortly after being selected 41 overall in June’s draft, and his chances of sticking on the final roster were beginning to look real. Now, that path has been knocked off course.
Still, there is at least one thing working in his favor: he’s in a locker room full of players who know this road.
The Thunder have spent the last several years accumulating a roster that includes plenty of players with firsthand experience of losing time to major injuries. Chet Holmgren missed his first NBA season in 2022-23 because of a Lisfranc injury in his foot.
Nikola Topic was out for much of his first two years with Oklahoma City because of a torn ACL and testicular cancer, respectively. Thomas Sorber, last year’s first-round pick, tore his ACL last offseason.
That kind of shared experience can matter. Sorber said just a few weeks ago that his teammates were supportive and uplifting during his recovery because they understood what it takes to get back. Among the biggest lessons he took from them were: "Always be patient" and "Listen to what the medical staff has for you."
That’s the kind of message Oweh will need now. An Achilles tear is no longer the automatic career ender it once was, but it still brings a long recovery process that usually stretches six to twelve months before a full return.
Oweh is only 23, which means the setback is significant without being final. The season is gone, but his career doesn’t have to be. And if there’s a place where he can lean on people who truly understand that, it’s Oklahoma City.
In Other News...
Thunder Win Took A Backseat To One Disturbing Rookie Injury
The Thunders preseason win over the Pacers came with an uneasy moment late in overtime, when Otega Oweh went down after planting his right foot and collapsed, then had to leave the game with a right ankle injury. He did not return, and even in the setting of an exhibition game, the scene was hard to ignore given how quickly a routine play turned serious.
Mark Daigneault and teammate Brooks Barnhizer both addressed the situation afterward, but the bigger concern is the uncertainty around the injury itself. There was immediate worry it could involve the Achilles, and until the team provides a formal diagnosis, Oklahoma City is left waiting on one of the more unsettling injury stories of the preseason. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Face A Thomas Sorber Decision That Could Help Everyone
Aday Maras strong preseason has given the Thunder another useful look at the middle of the roster, and it has also made the picture a little tighter for Thomas Sorber. For Oklahoma City, that is not necessarily a bad problem. The team has built its success around depth and flexibility, and with Sorber still trying to make up for the year he lost to injury, the center rotation now has several names in front of him.
Sorbers situation is the kind front offices watch closely this time of year, because a player buried on the depth chart can sometimes find a clearer path elsewhere. If Oklahoma City decides a move makes sense, it could turn that logjam into future assets or even help fill another need at a different position. The Thunder do not have to rush anything, but this is the sort of roster decision that can quietly shape both Sorbers development and the next step of the teams bigger plan. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder May Have A Real Roster Decision After Zhaire Smith Flash
Zhaire Smith has gone from a name many around the league had filed away to a real part of Oklahoma Citys roster conversation after the Thunder brought him onto the training camp group. The former 76ers first-round pick earned that look with his work for the OKC Blue and his showing in Summer League, then backed it up with a strong preseason game appearance that gave the organization something more concrete to consider.
The Thunder still have an open roster spot, which means the decision is more than just a courtesy camp invite at this point. Smith could land a standard deal or a two-way contract, but there is also a path where he simply keeps working with the Blue if Oklahoma City decides to wait, leaving one of the more interesting back-end roster questions hanging as camp unfolds. [Read more 🡒]