2025-26 Thunder player grades: Jalen Williams

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The calendar has flipped to August. Which means we're in the dog days of the NBA's year-round calendar. Little will happen over the next two months as teams across the league prepare for the 2026-27 season. Before we move on, though, let's reflect one last time on last year.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a league-best 64-18 regular-season record. Juggling injuries all year, they overcame notable absences all year. Alas, they fell short of a second NBA championship with a 2026 Western Conference Finals exit.

To reflect on their 2025-26 season, Thunder Wire will conduct player grades for all 20 players who suited up for them this past year. Third up is Jalen Williams, who failed to stay healthy all year long:

2025-26 statistics:​

• 17.1 points
• 4.6 rebounds
• 5.5 assists
• 1.2 steals
• 48.4% shooting
• 29.9% 3-point shooting
• 83.7% free-throw shooting

Advanced stats:​

• True-shooting percentage: 56.0%
• Usage rate: 26.2%
• Win shares: 3.0
• VORP: 1.0

Significant Percentile Finishes:​

• Isolation scorer: 74.8 percentile
• P&R ball-handler: 74.0 percentile
• Handoff: 64.0 percentile
• Cutter: 77.7 percentile

Contract:​

• 2026-27: $41.2 million
• 2027-28: $44.5 million
• 2028-29: $47.8 million
• 2029-30: $51.1 million
• 2030-31: $54.4 million

Thoughts:​

Well, this is a year where you just toss it in the bin. For whatever reason, the cosmos had it out against Williams. It was about as stop-start as you could get. No honest chance to get a rhythm. Nothing went right for the 25-year-old. After he established himself as an All-NBA talent, injuries completely derailed his momentum. All the Thunder could do now is hope that it was just a one-year blip and not the start of a disturbing trend.

Nothing went right for Williams. Two wrist surgeries and four hamstring strains limited him to 33 regular-season games. He only played two entire NBA playoff games. Anytime it felt like he was building up momentum, another dreadful setback was right around the corner. Surely he knew there'd be consequences to playing through torn wrist ligaments in OKC's 2025 title run. But you can prepare all you want for an apocalypse. Doesn't mean you're actually ready to live through it.

After a breakout season, Williams saw his stats drop across the board. Of course, that's filled with plenty of caveats. When he did play, he was hoping to knock off rust. And by the time he got into a groove, he eventually returned to square one with another injury. He missed OKC's first 19 games of the season with a second wrist surgery. And as he slowly worked his way back up to playing like an All-NBA talent, the first of many hamstring problems occurred.

From that point, the rest of his season was a copy-and-paste. He'd miss time, eventually return and then shortly afterward reaggravate his hamstring problems. Two on each leg. It was a physical, mental and emotional toll that clouded over the Thunder all year. And it eventually cost them in their playoff exit. I mean, four hamstring strains in five months is just straight-up insane. Even for the nagging muscle injury's history. You can theorize if anybody is to blame or if it's just plain-old bad luck, but none of that matters at the end of the day.

It's shameful that Williams had one of his prime years stolen. But that's the cost of a championship ring. I'm sure the Thunder knew this was a risk in the back of their minds during the 2025 NBA playoffs. And if he had a chance to go back in time, he'd do it all over again. Alas, that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Just sour grapes that when he was at his peak, he looked like Gen Z Scottie Pippen. The Thunder managed without him for most of the year, but sorely missed his talent in the Western Conference Finals.

Moving Forward:​

Let's just hope this was a one-year anomaly. At its core, you could argue the Thunder bringing home another NBA championship will depend on Williams' health. Last year was just brutal. He built up an Iron Man reputation in his first three seasons just to see it get tossed away in just one year. But as he faded into the background, most folks forgot just how good he is.

Think Williams will have plenty of bulletin board material. He's one of OKC's best developmental stories. To the point that he's the difference between the Thunder having a ring and not. The twisting-knife part about last year was that when he did play, he looked good. Like really good. He was an efficient 17-point scorer despite being limited. He figured out how to get to the free-throw line. And his mid-range game was the best it's ever looked. That being his worst-case scenario just shows how superbly talented he is.

Williams hopes he can return to his All-NBA form. The 25-year-old is at the peak of his powers. Returning to being an efficient 20-point scorer is reasonable. Think he'll be due some good outside shooting, too. It was obvious that his wrist woes limited him in that regard last year. Now a calendar year removed, he should return to being one of OKC's top outside shooters. And then there's the free-throw numbers. As said earlier, he sneakily got better in that department. Feels like he's cracked the code at getting to the line at will. The drive-heavy scorer has shown to be a downhill menace.

On top of that, he should shine as a defensive machine. With several players out, more defensive responsibilities will be on his shoulders. He showed how underrated he is on that end of the floor with an All-Defense honor last year. His pterodactyl wingspan absolutely suffocates opposing ball-handlers. He could defend all five positions with ease. The Thunder will need him to return to that level as he suddenly becomes one of their best point-of-attack defenders.

We've seen Williams be good enough to be the second-best player on an NBA champion. The tape and stats are there. The Thunder should be absolutely confident he can return to that level. In fact, it has to happen if they want to remain one of the championship favorites. He's one of the league's best two-way players and has the resume to back it up. Better health luck is all he needs.

Final Grade: D​

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: 2025-26 Thunder player grades: Jalen Williams

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