The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2025-26 season with high hopes of repeating as NBA champions. Although Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second straight MVP award and the team finished with a league-high 64 wins, the Thunder fell in the Western Conference Finals to the San Antonio Spurs mainly due to the fact that Jalen Williams' injury loomed large.
Throughout the 2025-26 season, Williams dealt with multiple injuries, specifically hamstring issues late in the year that limited his availability in the postseason.
As the Thunder prepare for the 2026-27 season and their quest to win another championship, Williams' health concerns continue to loom large. On Thursday, executive Sam Presti spoke to the media previewing the upcoming year, and he gave an important update that should have Oklahoma City fans optimistic about Williams' pending fifth season with the team.
“We are in the deep of trying to sort out all of these different techniques and data and analytics. At the same time, you can't get completely swept under to the point where you have so much information,” Presti said on Thursday. “I don't want to get into the details specifically, but we feel like we've found every possible advantage of this area. What we're hopeful of is that he really just needed a full offseason to play and get back.
“He looks fantastic. He looks great and is playing great. We look forward to him being himself again.”
Presti also mentioned how Williams is essential to the Thunder's success not just because of his production on the court, but because of what he does for everyone else around him.
Article Continues Below“He works so hard already,” Presti mentioned. “I don't know if there's a guy who has a bigger influence on the different roles other people play and how those roles change when he's out there because he's so versatile and impactful.”
In 33 games last season, Williams averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor.
At full strength, Williams has proven to be one of the elite two-way players in the NBA. With a full offseason to rest and recover from his ailments a year ago, the Thunder and Presti are confident that Williams will be back on the court stronger than ever.
If this holds true, the Thunder will have their No. 2 star needed to potentially get back to the NBA Finals and capture their second championship in the last three seasons.