How Jaylen Williams’ extended injury cost him millions

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams missed his 18th straight regular-season game with a wrist injury, forfeiting eligibility for postseason awards and a hefty performance bonus. After undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, Williams underwent a second procedure in October.

Instead of recouping the full potential value of Williams’ five-year supermax extension, his salary for the first year of his new deal is projected to be 25% cap instead of 30%, as Spotrak’s Keith Smith noted.

“Jalen Williams is no longer eligible for 30% of his overtime cap. Williams has now missed too many games to be eligible for postseason awards, which would have qualified him for 30% of his cap,” Smith said. “They will now make 25% of the cap at a projected $41.5 million.”

Before the injury, Jaylen Williams earned his first All-Star selection last season in his third year with the Thunder. He was also named to the All-Defensive Second Team for the first time, and Williams made the All-NBA Third Team before helping lead Oklahoma City to its first championship.

Williams agreed to a five-year extensionworth $287 million during the offseason. He averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals in 2024-25.

Mark Daigneault on the schedule for the Thunder’s injuries

Thunder head coach Mark Deno has set a record for scheduling his players to return from injury. While most fans assume the Thunder’s depth combined with its NBA-best record is reason for the players to bounce back, Daigneault dismissed that notion before Sunday’s game against the Trail Blazers.

“No. It’s all health decisions,” Daigneault said. “We’re always conservative. We’re always cautious about the health of our players. If we have to wait another day or another week, or another game, to get a more complete version of a player that’s more viable from a health standpoint, we’re always going to do that. Those decisions aren’t made about team performance or depth or anything like that.

“If we get guys out, we’re going to go all the way down our roster and play two-way guys. Those minutes have nothing to do with how we make health decisions with players,” Daigneault concluded.

The Thunder beat the Trail Blazers 122-95 to improve to 17-1.