The Thunder’s injury list keeps growing, and now Chet Holmgren is back on it.
Oklahoma City listed Holmgren as out for the road matchup with the Dallas Mavericks because of right knee patellar tendinitis. That means he’ll miss a second straight game after sitting out the Thunder’s win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
The absences don’t stop there. OKC also ruled out Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, Nikola Topić and Thomas Sorber.
Williams and Wallace were hurt in Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers, and both are set to undergo surgery. Once that happens, the Thunder will have a clearer timeline for when they might return.
Caruso left Monday’s game against Phoenix with a right ankle sprain and did not come back. Mitchell, who poured in a career-high 30 points in that game, is now questionable with a right ankle sprain of his own.
Here’s the full injury picture for Thunder-Mavericks:
Thunder: Alex Caruso (right ankle sprain) is out. Chet Holmgren (right knee patellar tendinitis) is out.
Ajay Mitchell (right ankle sprain) is questionable. Thomas Sorber (right knee surgery) is out.
Nikola Topić (low back surgery) is out. Cason Wallace (left shoulder labral tear) is out.
Jalen Williams (left ankle fracture) is out.
Mavericks: Santi Aldama (right knee surgery) is doubtful. Tarik Biberovic (right heel bursitis) is doubtful.
Sergio de Larrea (right knee sprain) is out. Kyrie Irving (left knee injury management) is questionable.
Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) is out. Naji Marshall (illness) is questionable.
Caleb Martin (right thumb sprain) is questionable.
In Other News...
Thunder Rallying Around Injuries Says Everything About This Team
The Thunders latest win came with the kind of postgame backdrop that tends to tell you plenty about a team, even before the numbers do. With Jalen Williams already sidelined, Isaiah Hartenstein took a moment after the game to acknowledge the absence of his injured teammate and describe the way Oklahoma City has tried to keep moving forward, one night at a time, while still carrying the weight of those missing pieces.
There is now another layer to manage, with GM Sam Presti announcing that Cason Wallace will miss significant time because of a left shoulder tear. Hartenstein also had a lighter moment in the mix, wearing Williams jersey and joking about the reaction he got from Wallace, a small bit of locker-room levity that said something about the groups mood even as the injury list keeps growing. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder Title Hopes Just Took An Early Hit
Early-season injury reports around the NBA are already piling up, and Oklahoma City has found itself at the center of that churn. Around 15 percent of players were listed with injuries or illnesses, with a long list of notable names expected to miss significant time, a reminder that title races can look a lot different before November even settles in. For a Thunder team built on depth, continuity and young legs, the league-wide attrition is more than background noise, it is part of the backdrop for what could shape the Western Conference race.
The concern for Oklahoma City is not just what those absences mean elsewhere, but how quickly the balance of power can shift when key contributors are unavailable. Other teams will have to survive without stars such as Jalen Williams, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, and every injury opens a lane for someone else to seize a larger role. For the Thunder, the challenge is staying steady while the rest of the league scrambles to adjust, because these early misses can test depth in a hurry and change the complexion of the title chase before it ever finds its stride. [Read more 🡒]
Ajay Mitchell Suddenly Faces A Massive Thunder Opportunity
Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace going down in the same game against the Clippers turned an already tricky stretch into a much bigger test for Oklahoma City, and it also opened a lane for Ajay Mitchell to matter even more. Williams was already the kind of absence the Thunder could feel immediately, and Mitchell has shown before he can handle extra responsibility, including when he stepped in during Williams absence last season and carried that momentum into the playoffs.
He backed up the opportunity right away with a strong showing in the win over Phoenix, which is why the conversation around him has started to sound bigger than just short-term depth. One analyst even raised the possibility that Mitchell could play his way into All-Star-level production if this run keeps going, and for a Thunder team adjusting on the fly, that is the kind of development worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]