Every now and then, an NBA player suffers such a gruesome-looking and career-altering injury that the entire basketball world wraps its collective arms around him. Unfortunately for Jalen Williams, he's the latest example of that.
Going up for a driving layup with a little over a minute to go in regulation, Kris Dunn collided with Williams mid-air in OKC's win over the LA Clippers this past Sunday. He landed nastily and snapped his leg backward. With his ankle facing the wrong direction, he needed to be stretchered off the floor.
Eventually, Williams was diagnosed with a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle. He had surgery to repair both. While the Thunder will re-evaluate him before the 2026-27 regular season ends, the All-NBA talent is likely
out for the rest of the year. Barring a miracle.
In shock, Williams was stunned by his leg injury. So were the rest of the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander covered his tears by pulling the collar of his jersey over his nose. Chet Holmgren knelt and prayed. Alex Caruso paced the other direction with a red-colored face filled with rage at the basketball gods.
Top NBA stars across the league sent their best wishes via social media and other platforms. One of the more notable voices was Kevin Durant. Of course, the 38-year-old has had his fair share of injuries over his legendary career. Most notably, a foot fracture and a torn Achilles tendon. As evident with his numbers this year, those were just bumps on the road. Williams is hoping for a similar career arc after two injury-plagued years.
"I just feel for him. Honestly, this is a brotherhood. We compete at the highest level against each other and we keep that on the floor," Durant said. "But to see one of your brothers in this thing go down with such a gruesome injury, especially at this age and having an injury history last year, just thinking about him. Thinking about his teammates. That's tough to see, man."
No question that Williams' presumed season-ending injury has shaken up the NBA title picture already. We're not even two weeks into the 2026-27 regular season, and you can comfortably take the Thunder off the board as an inner-circle contender. Something that was unfathomable just days ago.
As the Thunder try to move with their NBA lives without Williams and Cason Wallace — who also had a probable season-ending injury in the same game with a torn labrum — Durant's Houston Rockets are suddenly launched to the top of teams who could win the Larry O'Brien trophy now.
To Durant, that's in the back of his mind right now. Instead, he sent his best wishes to both injured Thunder starters. Say what you want about how the future Hall-of-Famer conducts himself in the social media world, but there's no denying he's a pitch-perfect ambassador for the game.
"This is a brotherhood. We want everybody healthy. We want everybody on the court doing what they do. But he knows that he has so much support around him. He has so much support around the league," Durant said. "Can't wait to see him get back. Cason Wallace, too. Get well to all those boys."
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Kevin Durant wraps arms around Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace: 'This is a brotherhood'
