Thunder loses starters Williams and Wallace to serious injuries

Oklahoma City guard Jalen Williams will need surgery to repair a broken left fibula and dislocated left ankle, the latest significant blows to a Thunder franchise that has dealt with a number of injury-related issues in recent seasons.

There isn't a timetable for Williams' return and one won't be set until after the surgery, general manager Sam Presti said Monday — but given the history of such injuries, it's reasonable to think Williams could miss the rest of the season.

"(Jalen), as everybody knows, is as tough as they come," Presti said at a news conference in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder improved to 4-0 with a hard-fought 125-114 win over the Phoenix Suns. "He's an elite competitor. Even last night, just miraculous in terms of his outlook and the way he's looking forward to attacking this. We're going to be with him the entire way."

It was a double gut punch for the Thunder on Monday, with the team also revealing that forward Cason Wallace will need surgery to repair a left labral tear. Like Williams, Wallace was injured on Sunday in Oklahoma City's 108-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Guard Alex Caruso was then assisted to the locker room during Monday's win over the Suns with what the team called a right ankle sprain.

Wallace, who signed a five-year contract extension worth $139 million last week, was injured in the first quarter after running into a moving screen.

"They will be back again playing pretty soon," Presti said, adding the team has protocols and routines to help cope with such a loss.

"The train has got to keep moving," Presti said. "There's a lot of good fortune that comes in this business, and there has to be some bad that comes with it if you do it long enough."

The timetable for Wallace's return also will be set after surgery, but such procedures typically require several months of rehabilitation. Williams was an All-Defensive team selection in 2024-25; Wallace was picked to that team last season.

"Tough night last night," Presti said. "There's no way to paint that differently. We say within our walls all the time that there's a difference between being positive and being optimistic. I'm not going to sit up here and say this is exactly where we want to be, or this is how we'd like to have it, but at the same time, we're extremely optimistic about the recovery for both the players. Most importantly, things could have been a lot worse."

The Thunder has experienced major injury-related challenges in recent years, including Chet Holmgren missing the entirety of what would have been his rookie season with a foot issue. The team's 2024 first-round pick, Nikola Topic, missed all but 10 games in the previous two seasons — first because of a torn ACL, then with testicular cancer. And Williams missed 49 regular-season games a year ago with an array of issues, mostly wrist and hamstring problems.

"We've had some uniquely tough circumstances over the last few years," Presti said. "One of the things I tried to say to the staff this morning when I talked to them was we can't get to the point where we feel like this is a common situation. But, that being said, it's our situation."

Williams was injured on a drive with 1:14 remaining against the Clippers. He was tended to almost immediately by medical personnel after going down underneath the basket on the Thunder's offensive end.

Williams' ankle was draped by towels and players from both teams reacted with dismay and disbelief as a stretcher was brought out. The game was stopped for about five minutes.

Williams — who has averaged 17.9 points in 251 games over his first five seasons — has already been an All-Star and an All-NBA selection, and he was a huge part of the Thunder team that won the 2025 NBA title.

The Thunder entered this season as a co-favorite with the Spurs to win the NBA title. Oklahoma City will — in time — likely make some decisions about applying for a disabled player exception, or even using its stockpile of future draft picks to try and make trades and keep a title-hopeful team in contention.

Those conversations, for now, can wait.

"I haven't thought about anything related to the roster spot," Presti said.