Is Jalen Williams playing tonight vs. Nuggets? Latest intel on Thunder stud

Over the last several weeks, the OKC Thunder have been absolutely bludgeoned by bad injury news.

First, it was the decision by Kenrich Williams to undergo surgery to address an arthroscopic debridement procedure in his right knee. Then, it was the too-close-in-proximity injuries to big men Jaylin Williams (hamstring) and Isaiah Hartenstein (hand).

Most recently, the injury bug opted to chomp down on one of Oklahoma City's core trio talents Jalen Williams, who sustained an ankle injury during the team's preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks last week.

As a result, throughout these past few days, there has been some serious concern over whether this title-hopeful Thunder team could be heading into their opening night matchup against the Denver Nuggets without all four of these key rotational contributors in tow.

Fortunately, however, recent updates seem to suggest good news could finally be coming OKC's way when it relates to their widespread, health-related ailments, particularly regarding J-Dub.

Is OKC Thunder wing Jalen Williams playing vs Denver Nuggets?

On Wednesday, the NBA officially included the injury reports for Oklahoma City's opening bout against the Denver Nuggets. While Hartenstein, J-Will, and Kenrich Williams were all listed and ruled out for the contest, to what should be the delight of fans, not only was Jalen Williams not categorized in the same light but he wasn't even found on the list.

This is a tremendous update to see for the Thunder, as they'll need as many helping hands as possible as they look to slow down Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, and, ultimately, start their 2024-25 campaign 1-0.

Williams finds himself entering into the third year of his professional tenure after breaking onto the scene as a legitimate rising stud last season.

In 71 games played, the 23-year-old posted sensational new career-highs virtually all across the board with averages of 19.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 54.0 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from distance.

Now, as he approaches his junior year in the league, many are expecting to see the Santa Clara product "explode" into stardom and take on the role of second-in-command behind head honcho, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Based on training camp buzz and his preseason production, it seems he's well on track toward doing just that.

Thursday's season opener between OKC and Denver is slated to be tipping off at 9 p.m. CT and will be nationally broadcast on TNT.