Jalen Williams was stretchered off with a left leg injury, and what to do before the diagnosis
Williams went down on a drive with 1:14 left in Oklahoma City's win over the Clippers and left on a stretcher, and the Thunder have given no diagnosis yet. Ajay Mitchell is the player to add now.
By James · 3 min read
Jalen WilliamsAjay MitchellAlex CarusoPhotos: NBAFreeFor about five minutes on Sunday night the game in Oklahoma City simply stopped. Jalen Williams had been fouled on a drive with 1:14 left in a 108-101 win over the Clippers, came down awkwardly, and his lower left leg gave way with the foot bent out to the side, according to ESPN, and he left on a stretcher to a standing ovation, giving two thumbs up as he went. "He's not gone forever," Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said afterward. Coach Mark Daigneault said only that the team would be briefed on Monday morning and that "We're not doing great." Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports described the same sequence, and the Thunder had released no diagnosis when this was written.
- Jalen Williams OKC50thvs 28th
- Ajay Mitchell OKC122ndvs 103rd
- Alex Caruso OKC155thvs 200+
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OKC3rdvs 3rd
We are not going to guess at the injury, and a fantasy manager should not either, because the doctors offering diagnoses from video are guessing too. What can be said now is what Williams was worth, who takes his minutes, and what to do with him before the Thunder speak. Oklahoma City hosts Phoenix on Monday, so the first answers on the court come quickly, and they will come without Cason Wallace (left shoulder soreness) and Jaylin Williams (right wrist soreness) if either is held out, since both left Sunday's game in the first quarter and did not return.
| Sunday | Projected minutes | Our points rank | Our 9-cat rank | Consensus points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jalen Williams | 8 pts, 5 ast, 2 stl, 32 min | 32.2 | 46th | 50th | 39th |
| Ajay Mitchell | 18 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 27 min | 27.3 | 125th | 122nd | 130th |
| Alex Caruso | 12 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast, 22 min | 21.5 | 194th | 155th | unranked |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 34 pts, 5 ast | 34.5 | 4th | 3rd | 4th |
What our projections say now
Our projections take games off a player only once ESPN's injury list says he is out, so Williams' line does not carry this injury yet. It has him at 68.5 games, 19.3 points, 5.0 assists and 1.4 steals, 46th on our points board under ESPN's standard points scoring and 50th in 9-cat. He had started slowly, with 13.7 points a game on 38.5% shooting over three games, after missing 49 games last season with hamstring problems and recovery from wrist surgery, according to ESPN. The nightly run reads the injury list every morning, and once the Thunder announce a diagnosis and a timeline, our projections will turn the timeline into games and his rank will move with it.
Who takes his minutes
Ajay Mitchell is the most direct replacement and the player to add now. He played 27 minutes off the bench on Sunday with 18 points on 8-for-14, six rebounds, four assists and three steals, according to ESPN, and our projection already has him at 27.3 minutes with 13.3 points and 1.4 steals, 125th on points. Starting minutes would push that up considerably. Alex Caruso, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes, is the 9-cat option for steals and threes, at 155th in categories. Cason Wallace's shoulder makes him a question mark of his own. Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 34, will have the ball more, but at fourth on our points board there is little room for his rank to rise.
What to do
Do not drop Williams before the Thunder's update; a manager who drops a top-50 player on the strength of a video is guessing. If you have an injured reserve slot, move him there as soon as the Thunder list him out. Add Ajay Mitchell now in twelve-team leagues, before the diagnosis makes him an obvious pickup, and add Caruso in deep 9-cat leagues that need steals. Check the Thunder's update on Monday before you set a lineup.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
