Jalen Williams grabs left hamstring and leaves Game 2 against Phoenix originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Wednesday night at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, a playoff Game 2 was underway between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns. During the third quarter of this match, OKC's star player, Jalen Williams (J-Dub), suffered an injury to his left hamstring and had to leave the game midway.
This incident occurred around the 6:46 mark of the quarter.Jalen Williams left Game 2 vs. the Suns with an apparent hamstring injury. pic.twitter.com/P47wjF0c9T— ESPN (@espn) April 23, 2026Williams had just missed a fast-break layup on a transition drive. Immediately after missing the layup, he was seen grabbing his left hamstring. Instead of returning to defense, he committed a foul so he could be substituted out of the game.
While heading to the bench, he told his team, "Left hammy." Initially, he remained on the bench, but during a timeout, he went to the locker room for evaluation.“Jaylen Williams, J-Dub of the Thunder is back in the locker room at the 6:46 mark (of the third quarter),” ESPN’s Jorge Sedano said. “He missed a layup here in this quarter at 5:53.
He took a foul, was walking toward the bench and told them, ‘Left hammy,’ is what he said to the bench."The team announced his status as "questionable to return," but he did not come back. Before leaving the game, he had delivered an impressive performance with 19 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, and 1 steal in 23 minutes. OKC may have to play without their versatile "Swiss Army knife" player, who is skilled on both defense and offense.OKC's Jalen Williams (hamstring) is questionable to return after going to the locker room midway through the third quarter, per ESPN's Jorge Sedano.Williams was apparently injured on this play while trying to score a layup. pic.twitter.com/ZcS5TZRz2F— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 23, 2026MORE: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fires back at his critics for his ability to draw foulsJalen Williams previously missed 16 consecutive gamesWilliams' injury history this season has been quite difficult because he previously missed 16 consecutive games (February 12 - March 21) due to a right hamstring strain.
He also missed 19 games earlier in the season due to right wrist surgery. This time, the injury is to the "left" hamstring, which is different from his previous right hamstring injury.The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently among the championship favorites, and Jalen Williams is part of their core "Big Three" (along with SGA and Chet). If Williams remains sidelined during the playoffs, the Thunder's offensive rating could drop, which could jeopardize their championship dreams.More Oklahoma City Thunder News:Chet Holmgren shades Dillon Brooks before Suns-Thunder NBA Playoffs Game 2Chet Holmgren reveals that he finds Dillon Brooks' attempts at gamesmanship funnyThe Rockets may be the biggest threat to Thunder’s title hopesThunder get another scary 1st-round pick thanks to Warriors, Steph Curry