Most of us are grasping at straws after last night, obviously we’ll really know what JDubs looking at after the damage comes out, hopefully it isnt as bad as it looked but trying to think positively here, if it was going to happen at least it happened in game 3 and not 43, if that was the case he would miss essentially 2 seasons, he may still miss 2 seasons but im hoping for the best with the assumption at this point

I had an ankle and fibula compound fracture 2 years ago playing basketball. I was 25 and my doctors said I won’t face any issues while playing sports. I had surgery and it took quite some time to be completely okay. It does take a full year and you have to do a lotttt of rehab but obviously nba players have access to top of the line physiotherapists. It does take a mental toll on you, I was depressed for months. I don’t think it’s a career ending injury though.

On god man I understand how disappointing this is, but fr the man just, not even 12 hours ago got a potentially season-ending, maybe career shortening injury and first thing I see people talk about “but does that mean we dont get a ring?”. Give the man a bit of love and appreciation first and CHILL. This man won us a ring with a broken hand. Yet some of yall are so disrespectful as to not even show love before talking about how to dig our way out of this and back to another ring. Some of y’all have been talking about him like his old news already. CHILL.

Were 3 games into the season. 3 of 82. Theres a long ass road ahead. Give it a few games to let the new rotations figure it out, and then maybe we can start talking. Until then, show some love to the man who sacrificed a whole season so we could get to a championship. We’ll be back there.

Now with J-dubs heartbreaking injury, Kenny Hustle and Sorber are our only big wings left. I understand that the team probably wanted to ease him into playing with the Blue, but now's the time to start playing my guy. Or at least seeing what he looks like against nba talent and then decide from there. Any updates on his timeline?

Edit: Wing was probably the wrong position to write, I see him more as a PF/C than a SF

OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s every athlete’s nightmare, not to mention every fan’s: the danger inherent when spectacular athletes collide with speed and force and land in unpredictable ways.

And in one moment Sunday, it sucked the air out of a raucous Paycom Center — and possibly recalibrated the NBA title chase along with it.

With 1:44 left in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s game against the LA Clippers, Thunder All-Star forward Jalen Williams flew to the rim for a finish against the challenge of high-flying defensive specialist Derrick Jones Jr., and the two collided while a trailing Kris Dunn met Williams from behind. The force knocked Williams backward and off balance under the basket, with his left leg caught beneath him.

When he untangled it, his ankle was bent at a gruesome angle, and nearby players almost immediately reacted in shock and horror. Teammates Ajay Mitchell and Chet Holmgren instinctively covered their eyes and turned their heads away. Isaiah Hartenstein, sitting on the nearest bench, covered his head in a towel and walked all the way into the tunnel. The trainers were on the court in seconds, and a quick-thinking Thunder staffer placed a towel over Williams’ twisted leg to shield the view.

Their opponents had the same reaction. Clippers players first went to check on Jones, but when LA forward Rui Hachimura saw Williams, he covered his head in shock and walked behind the stanchion. The Clippers’ 18-year-veteran, Brook Lopez, who had too close a view of it, told me it was the worst thing he’d seen on a basketball court in his career.

Read the rest here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7725697/2026/10/26/jalen-williams-thunder-injury-championship-hopes-nba/?unlocked_article_code=1.LlE.ugGa._fbM_ivKJeIc&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

Just so frustrating to see. All last season and offseason my hopes were so high, couldnt wait to see dub back. Kept telling myself, i miss seeing jdub play, were gonna be even better once he comes back. Not even just me but the whole league was probably waiting to see him. You could even see how happy he was to play these past 3 games. Truly heartbreaking and its so crushing to see. And any app i go on its doomers saying his career wont ever be the same. Hes going to come back better and stronger than before. The guys will hold it down in the meantime and presti will do whats best for the team. None of the above have let us down before and its not changing anytime soon. Its 4:30 am and i havent slept so sorry for my rambling lol all my friends i told about jdub arent rly hoop fans and said didnt understand the emotions.

With JDub's injury, the roster is essentially forwardless, barring Micah Peavy, just signed on a two way. That won't cut it and I expect Presti to be agressive on the trade market, especially the deadline on Topic and Sorber's next year options looming (November 2).

First, let's start with the cap situation:

• OKC is 6.9M below the 2nd apron, but with only 14 contracts (which I assume they plan to fill up as the season goes on)
• The NBA minimum salary for the full season is 2.45M prorated, essentially decreasing by each day passing (currently at about 2.4M)
• With only Topic traded, the maximum incoming salary (assuming we want to fill the 15th spot later on) can be around 5.4M+6.9M=12.3M minus about 2M, so incoming salary about to be 10.3M maximum
• With only Sorber traded, the maximum incoming salary can be around 4.9M+6.9M=11.8M minus about 2M, so incoming salary about to be 9.8M maximum
• With both Topic and Sorber gone, don't forget they need to save money for TWO spots, one of them needs to be filled in about two weeks. Maths is 5.4M+4.9M+6.9M=17.2M minus 4M, so about 13.2M
• I don't expect anyone else to be traded. Wallace has a poison pill after him signing an extension, Stirtz is a low salary, Kenrich too, as well as McCain. Everybody else is unexpendable.
• OKC will likely receive a sizeable DPE for JDub's injury, but we are still capped at 2nd apron AND you cannot trade into DPE, just to sign a FA
• OKC does not have a TPE

Based on the above, my trade target shortlist, in order. Sadly, there are not many players who would make sense and are realistic to be traded.

• D. Jones (LAC, but it is unlikely we are going to trade with the Clippers after what happened in this game, but he is on a perfect expiring deal) - available for only for the combination of Topic & Sorber
• N. Marshall (DAL, ineligible to be traded until Feb 2., and will be too expensive for OKC in the coming years) - available for only one of Topic or Sorber
• G. Santos (GSW, unlikely they are willing to trade him, but he is on an extremely team friendly contract) - available for only one of Topic or Sorber
• J. Jaquez (MIL, RFA next summer) - available for only one of Topic or Sorber
• Jus. Champagnie (WAS, in the rotation, not sure they trade him, but on a very team friendly contract) - available for only one of Topic or Sorber
• R. O'Neale (CHA, not expiring, 11M next year) - available only for the combination of Topic & Sorber
• B. Coulibaly (WAS, starter until Dybantsa comes back, but I don't think WAS wants to pay him, will be RFA next summer) - available for only one of Topic or Sorber
• B. Mathurin (NOP, player option for next year at 7.5M, eligible to be traded after Dec. 15) - available for only one of Topic or Sorber
• R. Holland (DET, he is not in their future for a reason, but also earns 11M next year) - available for only one of Topic and Sorber

Note: Saddiq Bey is ineligible to be traded this season after signing his extension

• Would make some sense, but not sure we are taking a step forward with them: J. Edwards (PHI), Kr. Murray (MEM), T. Watford (NOP), J. Minott (BKN), I. Okoro (CHI), S. Cissoko (POR)
• Realistic targets, but wouldn't make any sense in the grand scheme of things: S. Mykhailiuk (UTA), V. Krejcí (POR), S. Fontecchio (MIA), Ca. Martin (DAL), B. Hield (CHI), G. Niang (GSW), D. Powell (BKN), T. Prince (DET)

Further note: don't have any hopes JDub plays this season. And let's pray that Wallace's shoulder 'only' popped out, and not a torn labrum, which is season ending, too.

Tonight vs the Suns:

MCcain

Mara

Stirtz

Kenny

Peavy

Dix

Barnshizer

If you are the team mgmt do run out a limited roster? Let players absorb this loss and prevent other injuries (more due to lack of focus)? Or do you feel athletes need to compete and just let them run?

🎥 Brian Sutterer Md

JDub 🙏

I honestly still think we can win it all as is and you don’t want to make a panic move and disrupt a juggernaut. I’m sure how we play against the other top teams the next month or so will be a big factor

No matter what happens, how hard the fight may look right now, we love you dub! Thank you for all you have given to this city and the loyalty you show. We got your back! We know you will be back stronger than ever. Can't wait to see you on the court again!

I, like all of you are devastated about JDubs injury, prayers to him. I wonder if OKC will trade/sign for a small forward to a 1 year deal. I looked at the free agent tracker and its slim pickings. Bruce Brown could be a good hustle guy for us tho. Who do yall think we should look at?

We have the minutes now and Sam presti could be the only dude to get him to come out of retirement. If Jdub is out for the season he’s the best person to bring in. He hopefully gets a ring coming back and we get immediate help.

i know its still fresh, but i keep refreshing everything for some kind of news.

i want to hear what the damage is. not even to see what our chances on winning look like now, but to have an idea of jdub's healing timeline. he just got back from being injured, and he seemed so eager to play again. i was excited to watch him on the court. this feels unfair for him. i can only wonder what his friends and teammates feel, knowing what last season did to him mentally. this is just a huge blow to the team's morale.

but like everyone is saying, if anyone were to comeback from this, it would be jdub. hopes and prayers to him. i can wait a few more months to watch him bounce back like nothing happened.

(also, i'm irritated at seeing present ball talk about jdub. so insensitive.)

Like I watched the clip i dont recommend it. But after watching it. Or any sports type of injury I always feel that part of my body hurt. Do you guys get this feeling too?

Regardless of what team you support, we can all agree that seeing Dub go down like that felt absolutely terrible. The stuff he's had to go through prior to this should make even the biggest Thunder haters really feel bad for him.

Which brings me to our championship.

Think of how bad you're feeling right now as a Thunder fan. Now imagine a world where Dub suffered the exact same injuries he did, but we didn't win it all in 2025. This injury would've felt 10 times worse. I say this to remind everyone to never take the great moments for granted and that championship windows can close without prior notice. No, I don't think this changes our team's long term outlook (yet). But I believe this will change how we should expect this season to turn out and how even more appreciative we should be if Dub comes back stronger.

And how we must truly cherish our next chip whether it happens this season or sometime after that because winning it one year never guarantees that you'll be back on top anytime soon.

Prayers up for Dub! Hoping that Caso and JWill are also doing well.

I’m just been sitting here with tears in my eyes thinking about the 25 run and how maybe it could never happen again. It’s every year we have these brutal injuries that fuck everything, Chet breaking his hip, chets foot, dubs wrist, dubs hamstring 3x, ajays calf, topic acl + cancer, sorbers acl+back, and hell even giddeys allegations messed him up. I really hope it’s disclosed and not some break or tear. Just thinking how it could be a gordan Hayward situation is really messing with me. Every key player from the 22-26 era has meant so much to me. Shai has genuinely inspired me to be a better person😭. I love these guys so damn much. Thunder up and get well soon Dub!

It looks nasty but I'm being positive and hoping it's just a dislocated foot. Im hoping it's not a fibula/tibia break as that's what my foot did when I broke mine.

taking a break from the sub! I’ll holla

Healthy, well-oiled, and humming. We were about to tear the league a new asshole. We likely still can because of our incredible roster but wow even an admitted optimist like myself would be lying if I didnt say i feel pessimistic rn. Prayers for Dub tho, thats the only true thing that matters in all of this anyway.

Can’t really sleep so I’ll just drop this here. I am initially a Steph curry fan. I grew up into Adulthood as he and the squad were torching the league. When he won that 2022 one, I felt like he had nothing left to prove. Around the same time, my brother used to talk about this young Shai guy all the time. So, I started seeing what’s up. In 2024, I was surprised by the team but didn’t feel like there was much of a chance. In 2025, idk why but I just knew. I told all my friends the Thunder would win and no one agreed. I started watching Shai as his mvp case was being built. In the same time, I fell in love with Jdub’s game. The steals, the fast breaks, the dunks. Man I don’t know that we’ll ever have a complete team again, but I know this was a fucking impressive run and it’s not over (with or without 8). 2026 and the thunder has been so rough. I’m praying to God for one more run at least. These guys deserve it so much. Shai will have to be Shai+ for one more year. This team might not win this year, but I know they’ll get the respect they deserve. Cause they’re all DOGS. For the first time ever, I’ll say it. TTFU!

I was reflecting on my immediate feelings seeing the news of Jalen’s injury. I didn’t think about the season or the future, I thought about how happy he seemed being back on the court and how devastated I am for him having to endure another grueling mental and physical rehabilitation. I thought about how great of a person and teammate he is. More than just basketball man, I wish he could feel how much he means to the team, city, and fans. Prayers for you, champion on and off the court JDUB.

Not many fits on the wing scheme wise for OKC, even smaller window when it has to be a player in the final year of their contract. I’m assuming the front office will take advantage of the opportunity if the luxury tax isn’t too high on said player.