With a 125-114 win over Phoenix on Monday, Thunder became the first NBA team to improve to 4-0 to open the 2026/27 season (Houston and Memphis joined them later that night). But it’s safe to assume the team wasn’t in a celebratory mood afterward word broke earlier in the day what Jalen Williams (fractured fibula / sprained ankle) and Cason Wallace (cleft lip) face long-term disability.
How John Hollinger of The Athletic writes that injuries — especially to Williams, the more likely of the two to be season-ending — could significantly alter the shape of a Western Conference that a week or two ago looked like it might be a two-team race between Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
While the Thunder were able to bounce back in the 2024/25 season when Chet Holmgren suffered a broken pelvis in early November and missed much of the season, the team was able to win the title that year in large part because Holmgren was able to return to the game and play a key role in the playoffs. That may not be the case for Williams, notes Hollinger.
Here’s more on Thunder:
- Oklahoma City’s injury woes took a turn for the worse on Monday at guard Alex Caruso – a key candidate for increased minutes without Williams and Wallace – exited the game in the first half and was ruled out overnight with a sprained right ankle (story via ESPN). It’s not yet known if Caruso will miss time with the injury, but the guards Ajay Mitchell (30 points) and Jared McCain (18 points) came up big in his absence, with the rookie Bennett Stirz also see 25 minutes of action.
- The Thunder were also missing Holmgren on Monday. As SI.com’s Rylan Stiles points out, he has been sidelined with right patellar tendinitis (via Twitter).
- In addition to Mitchell and Stirz, Justin Martinez of Oklahoman defines veterans wing Kenrich Williams as a player who will need to step up to Jalen Williams and Wallace on the shelf. After playing no more than 7:20 in any of the Thunder’s first three regular-season games, Kenrich Williams was inserted into the starting lineup and logged 24 minutes on Monday.
- ESPN’s Zach Crum and Bobby Marks examine the holes created by injuries in the Thunder’s rotation and consider how much flexibility they have to potentially add reinforcements. While acquiring a player through free agency or trade would increase Oklahoma City’s projected luxury taxes, the team does have 15 man cap space, as well as the mid-level tax exemption and several trade exceptions that could potentially accommodate a move. Using the taxpayer MLE would severely limit the club on the second tax apron, but the Thunder could exceed the second apron by using one of the TPEs or a disabled player exemption if they are granted one for Williams.
