OKC Thunder Face Major Twist With Jalen Williams Injury as Momentum Shifts Toward Victor Wembanyama & Co.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in quite a pickle. While the Thunder made it seem like the San Antonio Spurs' Game 1 victory was luck, Victor Wembanyama and company have proven otherwise after tying the Western Conference Finals series, 2-2.

NBA insider Tim MacMahon reported on Monday that Jalen Williams is once again listed as questionable for Game 5.

"OKC’s Jalen Williams is listed as questionable again for Game 5, but the injury designation has been changed from left hamstring soreness to strain."

The absence of Williams is now taking a toll on the team. Without Williams in the rotation, the Thunder have become quite predictable. Particularly because of his lack of perimeter defense and spacing, the Thunder's pick-and-roll offense has become easier to read.

For most of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Williams has been sidelined due to a left hamstring strain.

Williams then made his awaited return in Game 1 of the WCF, only to find himself getting hurt again in Game 2 after seven minutes of play. At the time, the injury was diagnosed as left hamstring soreness. However, after missing both Game 3 and Game 4, his injury has been upgraded back to the initial left hamstring strain.

After a huge 21-point victory on Sunday, the Spurs now have the momentum in the series matchup. Wembanyama's 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals outclassed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals.

Game 5 will be heading back to OKC. While it should be a home-court advantage for the Thunder, Wembanyama and the Spurs proved in Game 1 that Oklahoma fans won't stop them from achieving their goals.

Jalen Williams' Hamstring Curse

Throughout the 2025-26 season, Jalen Williams played only 33 regular-season games. This was due to several factors. Initially, he missed 19 games after undergoing wrist surgery in July 2025. During the Oklahoma City Thunder's championship run last season, Williams played through a torn scapholunate ligament. This resulted in mandatory surgery.

While things began to look better for Williams after recovering from his surgery, a series of nagging hamstring injuries forced him to miss an additional 26 regular-season games. Specifically, he had a severe right hamstring strain, which repeatedly resurfaced throughout the season.

Come playoff time, after recovering from his right hamstring injury, then came down with another hamstring injury, this time on the left side. Williams only managed to play two games against the Phoenix Suns in the first round before sustaining a left hamstring strain.

Having all that in mind, it seems that his nagging hamstring injuries simply won't allow him to play consistently this season. While there hasn't been any confirmation regarding Williams' availability, one thing is clear: it's likely that we won't see a lot of the one-time All-Star this postseason, even if OKC makes the finals.

Out of the only four games he played this postseason, Williams is averaging 17.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals. His contributions are still significant, and the Thunder will need all the help they can get, especially since Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have become the team's biggest threat so far.

This might be a sticky situation for the Thunder; however, there have been teams in the past who've won an NBA championship without their key players.

Back in 1980, the Los Angeles Lakers won the title without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by their side due to a severe ankle sprain.

Rookie Magic Johnson stepped up to the occasion and won the gold playing at the center position to fill in for Kareem in Game 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

With that said, Gilgeous-Alexander and company could still win it all if the rest of the team can fill the gaps like how Magic did when Kareem was sidelined.