Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams returned Thursday night after missing three straight games, but he might as well not have come back. The forward played 10 minutes off the bench for only one point (that came via a free throw), and finished with a -10 rating. He committed two turnovers.
His nightmarish stay in the blowout 118-91 loss was followed by a decision San Antonio Spurs superstar made just a couple of days ago. Like Victor Wembanyama did after losing Game 5, Williams also reportedly left the arena without talking to the media, per Tim MacMahon.
After a rough return, Jalen Williams (minus-18 in 10 minutes) exited the arena without talking to the media.
— Tim MacMahon (@BannedMacMahon) May 29, 2026
The NBA doesn’t take this kind of attitude lightly. They warned the Spurs star for violating media availability rules, and similar or even harsher punishment could follow if the Thunder star didn’t take prior approval.
Ironically, after being warned, Wembanyama responded with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in the must-win Game 6. Can we expect something from Williams, too, when he takes the court at home?
Jalen Williams called “tough” for playing through hamstring injury
Jalen Williams suffered a left hamstring injury in the first half of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. He didn’t returned in the second half and went on to miss three consecutive games in the series.
He returned for limited minutes in Game 6 and for that he was called “tough” by fellow Thunder teammate Chet Holmgren.
“That’s a tough dude right there,” Holmgren said. “I’ve never dealt with that (injury) specifically, but for him to go out there and fight through it and try to give us what he can, that’s who he is. There’s no quit in him. He’s always gonna bite down and fight.”
Notably, in Game 1’s loss against the Spurs, Williams scored 26 points in 37 minutes. So, he does know how to get those shots up successfully. It’s just a matter of how healthy he is for Game 7.
