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In a season filled with setbacks, Jalen Williams' glass-half-full mentality was tested to the max. The 25-year-old had his year absolutely ruined with injury after injury. Any hopes of salvaging things were ruined with another setback that was right around the corner.
Williams was limited to 33 regular-season games and played just two whole NBA playoff games. Two wrist surgeries delayed his start. And four hamstring strains in five months torpedoed any shot of him leaving his imprint in OKC's back-to-back ambitions.
After suiting up in a Hail Mary attempt in OKC's Game 6 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Williams begrudgingly sat out the Thunder's biggest game of the year in their Game 7 loss to get booted out of the NBA playoffs and finish five wins shy of their ultimate goal.
In his exit interview, Williams kept a full perspective on his injury-riddled year. He hopes this is just a blip on the radar and not the start of a disturbing trend. We know how tricky hamstring injuries can get. Especially when it's happened several times in a small frame of time.
"I think in my head before the year and every year since I've been playing, basketball has been my identity. So when that's not at the forefront and I can't do it, it was kinda eye-opening a little," Williams said. "So that was a reality check, I would say. So I think that was the most difficult part because this is what I do. Everything I do revolves around me playing basketball."
Williams later detailed his excruciatingly long rehab process. He'd spent entire days at the Thunder practice facility. From the early morning to late at night. All just for a shot to suit up for games. His iron-man-esque streak his first three seasons is something he learned to appreciate even more as his body kept failing him.
"It was extremely frustrating throughout the year to not be able to play. The summer was just as frustrating. Because I won, I was excited to get back on the court. Obviously, I couldn't," Williams said. "It was a lot. I think I dealt with it pretty good. I think the people around me and just the organization, I think if I was somewhere else it might be very different on how I approached it. But we have a really good team. I have really good people around me."
Now, the Thunder and Williams both hope they can flip the page from this chapter. Nobody knows for sure if playing through an injured wrist during last year's championship run eventually snowballed into this year's injuries, but they hope that a summer's worth of time helps him return to his trajectory of being an All-NBA talent.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jalen Williams opens up about 'frustrating' injury-riddled 2025-26 season
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