Update: Williams officially has an ankle sprain and is not going to return for Sunday’s game, per the team. We’ll see if he remains day-to-day or if there’s a bigger issue at hand for the Thunder. Oklahoma City should have no issues against Memphis in this one but Williams will be a hard player to replace if he’s sidelined for a while.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams appeared to suffer an ankle injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, going back to the locker room for further evaluation. He has seven points, three assists and two rebounds so far in this contest, which the Thunder are leading comfortably.
Jalen Williams checks himself out of the game and heads to the locker room.
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) March 10, 2024
JDub fell into a cameraman and looks like he might’ve come down on his ankle.
Williams dealt with an ankle injury earlier in the season, but it only cost him three games. The Thunder forward has taken a nice leap this year, averaging 19.2 points per game while posting 50/40/81 shooting splits. He’s become a nice complementary player for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and would be a big loss for a team trying to lock down one of the top seeds in the Western Conference.
If Williams were to be sidelined for a while, look for Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins to take on more minutes. Gordon Hayward, who was added at the trade deadline as a veteran depth piece, could also be thrust into a bigger role. The Thunder probably want to manage Hayward down the stretch to ensure he’s healthy for the postseason, so Dort and Wiggins are more likely to see increased usage.