SGA Shows Support for Jalen Williams After Thunder Star's Gruesome Injury, 'I Just Feel Bad for Him'

The Oklahoma City Thunder could be without one of their biggest stars for a while after Jalen Williams suffered a gruesome leg injury against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Reacting to the injury, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said that he "just feels bad for" this teammate.

"I just feel bad for him. Nothing more than that," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "He'll be back better than ever."

He later added "it sucks" while speaking to reporters:

Williams was going up for a layup against the Clippers when he landed awkwardly on his left leg. He has not yet received a diagnosis, but anyone watching the game can assume that he's going to miss an extended period.

"Those are tough, man. We're not doing great," head coach Mark Daigneault told reporters. "That's tough on the guys. Not doing great. Everyone empathizes. I think both teams in those situations."

Losing Williams will be a major blow to the Thunder.

The 25-year-old put up 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game in his last healthy season in 2024-25 and was one of the biggest reasons why they won the title that year.

He's a strong second option to Gilgeous-Alexander on offense and is a tremendous defender on the perimeter, leaving a massive void to fill when he's not on the court.

Unfortunately, it appears Williams is going to miss significant time for the second year in a row. Last season, he played just 33 regular-season games because of various injuries.

In the playoffs, he missed much of the first round because of injuries and played just three games against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Williams' absence was surely a reason why the Thunder came up short in that series.

How much time Williams will have to miss remains to be seen, but OKC will have to carry on without him in the meantime.

"It's obviously going to be tough without a player like that. But he's not gone forever," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "He'll be back better than ever, and we know it. We've just got to hold the fort down until he comes back."