We've almost made it. The Oklahoma City Thunder, along with the vast majority of the NBA, will start training camp on Sept. 29, with their first preseason game coming against the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 6.
For most teams, this is simply a feeling-out period—getting players back into shape while exploring the talent they've added to the roster in the offseason. For the Thunder, much of the focus will fall upon their young pieces. Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, and Otega Oweh were all added through the Draft, and each player will have their own spotlight until the regular season starts.
Beyond that, production and performance simply doesn't matter. A string of strong or sub-par performances in the preseason from a truly qualified NBA player has almost never been an indicator of what their regular season could look like.
But Oklahoma City desperately needs a healthy and offensively active season out of Jalen Williams after the way his last campaign went. If he's moving around well and shooting his 3-ball with confidence over the early portions of October, that could go a long way toward easing any lingering anxiety ahead of the new season.
Jalen Williams simply needs to look like himself in the Thunder's preseason
Needless to say, 2025-26 didn't go according to plan for Williams. He missed the start of the season rehabbing a wrist injury he suffered during the team's championship run in 2024-25, and he was later sidelined with multiple hamstring injuries. The one he suffered during the playoffs was the final straw, as he was ultimately held out of much of the Thunder's seven-game loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
Without him, Oklahoma City simply wasn't as dangerous. They couldn't lean purely on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to give them the offensive infrastructure they needed, and they sorely lacked a second star with Williams' downhill skill set.
Even when Williams was active last season, though, he didn't entirely look like himself. He often seemed hampered by and hesitant with his hamstring, and almost as importantly, his 3-point volume and efficiency took a major dip. He shot just 29.9% from beyond the arc on 2.3 attempts per game last season—compared to 36.5% on 4.9 attempts in 2024-25.
The 3-ball isn't the most important part of Williams' game, but his ability to shoot it consistently is part of what keeps the Thunder's offense afloat. Whether it was a matter of confidence or health in 2025-26, Oklahoma City needs Williams to be firing on all cylinders entering this season if they want to have a chance of reaching the summit again.
It doesn't matter, then, if Williams doesn't put up major numbers in the preseason. He'll probably be operating on a limited workload anyways.
But if he's taking his 3-point shots with confidence in practice and in his minutes in the Thunder's preseason matchups, there's a solid chance he'll be back in full form by the time the regular season kicks off. That's the most Oklahoma City could ask for at this point, and Williams can provide them with some reassurance in that regard before the season even starts.
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