Thunder say Williams (hamstring) week-to-week

Tim MacMahonApr 23, 2026, 03:35 PM ETCloseJoined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas MavericksAppears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FMOklahoma City Thunder star forward Jalen Williams sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain and will be reevaluated weekly, the team announced Thursday afternoon.The injury will sideline Williams for at least Saturday's Game 3 and Monday's Game 4 of the Thunder's first-round series against the Phoenix Suns, as well as Game 5 if necessary on Wednesday.Williams suffered the injury during the third quarter of Oklahoma City's 120-107 win in Wednesday's Game 2, which gave the defending champion Thunder a 2-0 series lead.Williams grabbed his left leg and motioned toward the bench after missing a contested layup on a fast break with 6:26 remaining in the third quarter. He appeared to mouth the words, "left hammy," and intentionally took a foul a couple of possessions later so he could exit the game and immediately headed to the locker room for further evaluation.He did not speak to the media before leaving the Paycom Center.Williams' postseason was off to a spectacular start after injuries limited him to 33 games during the regular season. He had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Thunder's Game 1 blowout win and followed that up with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four assists in 23 minutes in Game 2."I thought he was playing great obviously," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the win. "He was on the gas. He had great force. He was hitting shots. Got really good shots for his teammates, especially early. So yeah, he was playing an outstanding game."Williams, a third-team All-NBA selection last season, played the entire playoffs last year with a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, delaying an operation until after Oklahoma City's championship run. He missed the first 19 games of the 2025-26 season while recovering from that surgery and twice missed extended stretches due to a right hamstring strain that he aggravated during a 28-point, 11-of-12 shooting performance in a Feb. 11 win over the Suns.Oklahoma City went 39-10 without Williams in the lineup this season.