OKC Thunder receive devastating injury news ahead of regular season

The Oklahoma City Thunder are set to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in a matter of hours in their fourth of five preseason games. Before tip-off, Mark Daigneault addressed those of us in the media and gave a massive injury update on the OKC Thunder.

The OKC Thunder had injuries sprinkled throughout their season a year ago. Including right out of the gate as Jalen Williams was elbowed in the eye, Josh Giddey dealt with a hip injury, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed training camp with an MCL injury.

Throughout the season, Kenrich Williams was lost for the stretch run with a hand injury, Ousmane Dieng missed significant time with a wrist injury, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl suffered a grade three sprained ankle, and Aleksej Pokusevski missed a large chunk of the year with a broken leg.

Still, the OKC Thunder managed to win 40 games, a 16-win improvement on last season, and earn a trip to the play-in tournament through no shortage of adversity, including losing Chet Holmgren for the entire season with a Lisfranc Fracture last August.

Now, on the cusp of the most exciting season in Bricktown since 2017, Mark Daigneault gave an injury update that leaves fans scratching their heads about how the team will get by.

Jaylin Williams will miss extended time as other OKC Thunder players have murky timelines.

Mark Daigneault started his pregame press conference with a monologue before taking questions, which is rarely good news. The OKC Thunder bench boss announced Jaylin Williams suffered a Hamstring Strain in practice on Monday and would be re-evaluated in two weeks.

This is a devastating blow for a team already lacking front-court depth and a team that just traded away Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. This is compounded by the fact that Kenrich Williams is out for an unclear amount of time with Back Spasms.

Mark Daigneault said it is “Tricky to put a timetable” on Kenrich Williams, who is still in a bit of pain dealing with his back spasms. The injury issues did not stop there.

Cason Wallace left Sunday’s affair early in Charlotte with a “Sprained Big Toe.” Mark Daigneault was able to put a somewhat clearer timeline on Wallace’s injury, listing him as Day-to-Day, narrowing the range the Kentucky rookie will be shelved for.