The Oklahoma City Thunder finally got the news they were waiting on. Jalen Williams is back for the Western Conference Finals. The 24-year-old All-Star wing missed six straight games with a left hamstring strain dating back to April 22, and the timing of his return matters for a Thunder team facing Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
Williams is the second-best player on the Thunder. He averaged 21.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists this season, finished second-team All-NBA, and was named All-Defense for the second straight year. OKC was good without him. They are a championship contender with him.
The Thunder’s medical staff was cautious. Hamstring injuries are tricky. Coming back from one too early almost always means re-aggravating it and missing more time. Mark Daigneault and the front office made the call to hold Williams through the Minnesota series, which OKC won in six anyway. That decision now looks correct.
San Antonio is a different problem. Wembanyama is the only player in the league who can change a series by himself on both ends of the floor. His length affects every Thunder possession in the paint. His shot-blocking turns transition opportunities into half-court grinds. And the Spurs added enough shooting around him this season that OKC cannot just throw multiple bodies at the big man without giving up corner threes.
Without Williams, the Thunder would have struggled to find a second creator who could attack the Spurs’ defense off the dribble. SGA can score 35 points on Wembanyama, sure. But the playoff equation usually comes down to who has the second-best offensive player on the floor. Williams gives OKC that. Without him, they are leaning on a banged-up Chet Holmgren and a thin bench.
The other side of the Williams return is the defensive piece. The Thunder need a long, versatile wing who can guard multiple positions, because the Spurs run plenty of two-guard lineups with Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle. Williams can guard either of them, which lets OKC keep its best matchups elsewhere on the floor.
The injury itself is worth a quick look. A hamstring strain in late April that needed a full month to heal is not nothing. Williams himself has not played at full game speed since the regular season. There is going to be a ramp-up period. The Thunder cannot assume he is back to All-NBA form in Game 1. He might be a 30-minute player on a minutes restriction. He might be a closing-lineup guy who plays the fourth quarter but rests the third.
Daigneault is going to manage him carefully. He has the rotation depth to do it. Aaron Wiggins, Cason Wallace, and Lu Dort all played well in the Minnesota series. The Thunder can absorb a slow start from Williams as long as he is available when the games get tight.
The bigger picture is what this means for the title race. OKC is the betting favorite to come out of the West. Adding Williams back puts them at full strength against a Spurs team that is missing De’Aaron Fox to ankle soreness. That is a meaningful swing in the matchup.
The Thunder lost Game 1 in double overtime Monday night when Wembanyama dropped 41 points and 23 rebounds. Williams was on the floor and looked rusty, which was expected. The series resets Wednesday. If Williams is closer to full speed by Game 2, the Thunder are still the favorites to win this series. If the hamstring acts up again, Oklahoma City has a real problem.
For now, the news is good. Williams is back. The rotation is whole. The Thunder are going to need every bit of him to get past Wembanyama and the Spurs.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
