The Oklahoma City Thunder saw their quest to get back to the NBA Finals take a major left turn, as star forward Jalen Williams suffered a serious leg injury in the team's win against the Los Angeles Clippers. Williams will likely be on the mend for a good chunk of time, depriving Oklahoma City of (arguably) their second-best offensive player.
For most teams, losing a player for what promises to be a long chunk of time this early in the season would have such a painful knock-on effect that the team's entire championship plan would be called into question. The Thunder, perhaps unfortunately, are no stronger to such trials and tribulations, giving them a blueprint to stay the course.
Even on a team that needed to take some bites out of their depth in the offseason due to the financial restraints placed on them by some of their larger contracts, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of this squad have enough spice to keep things rolling relatively smoothly until Williams returns.
Thunder equipped to play well despite Jalen Williams' severe injury
The Thunder played most of last season without Williams, who averaged 17.1 points and 5.5 assists per game in that time span. That is not to suggest that Williams is simply a puzzle piece that can be replaced by anyone. Rather, it shows that Mark Daigneault is a uniquely gifted basketball mind who can work around missing such a huge piece.
While Sam Presti has become the toast of the NBA town for being able to contend and restock their depth with lottery picks, the Thunder have been hit with some major broadsides that have ravaged their depth. In just the last few years, OKC has seen three lottery picks miss their rookie seasons.
Both Chet Holmgren and Thomas Sorber were put on ice as rookies, and Nikola Topic has played just 10 games in two seasons due to his health battles. Those poor runs of luck would have ravaged even a well-run team, but Presti and Daigneault have been able to withstand those storms to an exemplary degree.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will help the Thunder thrive without Jalen Williams
At the risk of boiling analysis down to as basic a form as possible, Gilgeous-Alexander is historically good. That scoring skill will continue without Williams, and it gives Oklahoma City a floor offensively that can allow for some experimentation and growth in the background.
To take some of the pressure off Shai, new addition Jared McCain can provide some microwave scoring in the backcourt while both Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso can show that they would be capable of much more impressive scoring feats with an expanded role. They also have a (shockingly) healthy rookie in Bennett Stirtz who has been a playmaker throughout his college career and can flex his muscles without Williams.
Oklahoma City is inarguably a much worse team without Williams' unique blend of playmaking, defense, and versatility in the lineup. The silver lining for Thunder fans is that they've been here before, and they came out of it smelling like a rose.
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