Thunder’s Jalen Williams tests new hot solution for wrist injury issue

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams will try any new methods to ease the pain in his right wrist. For reasons beyond quieting Williams’ harsh critics amid his first 21 games since his second surgery, the All-Defensive forward had been using a heated pad on his right hand in between substitutions as a means to keep his muscles loose. In the Thunder’s 124-112 win against the Miami Heat, he used a heated glove instead.

Williams saw Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington using the heated glove, which sparked the idea, he said, after beating the Heat on Sunday.

“Honestly, I saw PJ Washington using it. It looked pretty cool,” Williams said. “Just trying everything; see what it was. It really wasn’t much to it — just a heated glove. I’m just trying stuff other than a hot pad. I’m going to try it. It’s the first game. It was cool. My hand was warm. I have to warm my [right] hand. The warmer my hand is, the looser some of my muscles are.

“So, I don’t have to do as much to it. People probably see me bending it during the game, and stuff. It stiffens up kind of quick. So, the glove was cool.”

Williams had his most efficient scoring night of the season, finishing with 18 points on 9-of-13 attempts. Jalen says he’ll continue to use it to see if its positive effects are long-term.

Jalen Williams calls out his harshest critics after Thunder win

Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams revealed his harshest critics are on X (formerly Twitter), he said, after Sunday’s win against the Heat. Williams still feels the effects of wrist surgery, which won’t go away this season. But he won’t let it impact his production, as Jalen continues to adapt amidst the final stages of recovery.

Williams also hears his harshest critics on social media, he said, during his postgame media availability.

“I thought I was my biggest critic. It might be Twitter,” Williams said. “I just take it day by day. Mark’s been good at just saying it’s going to take time. What I have is not like [something], 100 people running around with this injury, nor do they have that many people who had to do the surgery twice. So, it’s one of those things that I can look at as a new opportunity to show people that end up having to go through it at some point that it’s possible to maneuver through it.

“So, that’s how I’ve been looking at it. Like all things, it takes time. But I’ll figure it out. I’ll be able to manage and get everything else going.”

Williams and the Thunder will host the Spurs at the Paycom Center on Tuesday.

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