NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder's Jalen Williams is seriously injured - teammate in tears

At the end of the final quarter, with Oklahoma City ahead 103:99, Williams moved to the basket from the left wing and jumped off. A defender chased him, another jumped in the way and deflected the ball, colliding with Williams. In the air, Williams lost his balance, which caused the landing to fail: Williams hit the ground first with his left foot, albeit backwards. He bent backwards so that his buttocks landed on his bent leg.

Williams was missing from Oklahoma City last season

Gilgeous-Alexander also fought back tears after the game. “I just feel sorry for him,” said the builder. »Of course it will be difficult without a player like that. But he's not gone forever. He will come back stronger than ever, we know that. We just have to hold on until he gets back.”

"We're not feeling well," said coach Mark Daigneault after the win, which was irrelevant given the injury.

The 25-year-old Williams was missing from the Thunder in many games last season - the championship team from the 2024/2025 season missed a place in the NBA finals series after a narrow defeat against the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals. Williams will probably leave a big gap in the squad this season too. It is unclear how long he will be out and there is no diagnosis yet.