A dull contest turned consequential in the final five minutes. The Oklahoma City Thunder collected a 114-112 overtime preseason win over the Indiana Pacers, but it came at a potential cost. A quarter-filled home crowd went from indifferent to worried.
In the opening minute of overtime, Otega Oweh sustained a non-contact injury. After a closeout and trying to grab a rebound, he immediately crumbled onto the hardwood. In complete shock, he laid down. The 23-year-old needed help to head into the locker room. A couple of his Thunder teammates carried him there.
You don't want to say it aloud, but Oweh grabbed the back of his right ankle. Putting zero weight on it, it looked like a textbook torn Achilles tendon. Nothing has been officially announced
yet, though. That said, Tyrese Haliburton is extremely familiar with that scene. He was back in OKC for the first time since he had that injury in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
Afterward, the vibes were down for the Thunder. Oweh was the No. 41 pick of the 2026 NBA draft. He was on a two-way deal. Here's what OKC had to say about his injury after it happened:
Mark Daigneault
"Really tough. Really tough. That's tough."
Brooks Barnhizer
"Anytime you see somebody get hurt, whatever it may be, it's never good. Otega is the kind of kid where, regardless of what it is, he's going to be OK. He's such a lively person. Whenever he walks into the room, he just picks up a smile on everybody's face. It's been really cool. Me and him have a couple of mutual friends that we didn't know before he got here. He got here and we really bonded in the couple of months or whatever since Summer League. But he's an amazing human being, so whatever it may be, he's going to be OK."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: OKC Thunder react to Otega Oweh's non-contact injury in preseason win over Pacers
