The Oklahoma City Thunder will be down two starters for the foreseeable future as both Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace are headed for surgery, general manager Sam Presti said Monday.
The Thunder revealed Williams suffered both a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle, while Wallace has a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Their return timelines are up in the air, with the possibility that both players will miss the rest of the season.
Williams suffered a gruesome injury to his left leg in the waning moments of the Thunder’s 108-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night. His ankle bent awkwardly as he landed after being fouled on a drive to the hoop.
Presti said Williams is in great spirits.
“He has an elite mindset,” Presti said of Williams during a press conference. “It’s what makes him a great player. It’s what keeps him motivated, and it’s why we all love him.”
Wallace was hurt in the same game after running into a moving screen.
Williams was an All-Star and an All-NBA selection in 2024-25. He was limited to 33 regular-season games and five of Oklahoma City’s 15 playoff games in 2025-26 due to wrist surgery recovery and multiple hamstring strains.
Wallace was named to the NBA All-Defense second team last season and started all three games so far this season before his injury, a promotion for Wallace after Luguentz Dort was traded to Atlanta in the offseason.
He signed a five-year, $139 million contract extension last week, while Williams was in the first season of a five-year max contract worth $239 million.
“Obviously, tough night last night,” Presti said. “There’s no way to paint that differently. We say within our walls all of 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 of the players. Most importantly, things could’ve been a lot worse.”
–Field Level Media
