Why the OKC Thunder Are Well Equipped To Combat Key Injuries

Injuries have played a big part in the repeat attempts of every reigning champion this decade, with key players going down in big moments. Injury woes have already started for the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Most notably, the Boston Celtics had players like Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis go down with injuries and illness last season, hindering any chance of a Celtics repeat.

In the Thunder's Oct. 11 game against the Indiana Pacers, guards Isaiah Joe and Ajay Mitchell went down with lower-body injuries. This adds to the list of Thunder players currently injured, with forward Kenrich Williams and guard Nikola Topic both set to miss time with issues picked up since training camp started.

Forward Jalen Williams is working his way back from offseason wrist surgery and his availability for opening night against the Houston Rockets is still in question. This means OKC's elite depth will be tested the second the opening tip of the 2025-26 NBA season occurs.

The Thunder's roster makeup is perfect to combat any situation like this, with quality depth at every position on the depth chart. This depth is how the team was able to still win against quality opponents last season despite going through a stretch without centers Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Despite maintaining health throughout last year's playoff run, the Thunder are no strangers to injury woes. The Thunder did not have their fully healthy starting lineup until the week before the All-Star break.

Hartenstein broke his hand in the preseason and Holmgren broke his pelvis in November, causing the Thunder to not have their big duo together until a Feb. 7 121-109 win at Paycom Center against the Toronto Raptors. Now, instead of the center group being affected by injuries, it's the guards and forwards.

The Thunder already had to combat the absence of the Texas Christian University product Williams, Topic and potentially the Santa Clara University product Williams to start the season. Now, if Mitchell and Joe's injuries are serious, the Thunder will have to go deeper in the rotation to find quality minutes.

Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, or Alex Caruso could fill into the starting lineup if Williams has to miss time; all three made spot starts throughout points of last season. For the bench production of Joe, Williams, Mitchell and Topic, however, rookie guard Brooks Barnhizer and training camp roster invite Chris Youngblood may have to step up.

Barnhizer has shown promise as a defense-first wing throughout NBA Summer League and preseason play, similar to that of the veteran Williams. Youngblood has been a constant threat from behind the arc, scoring 20 or more points twice in the preseason, similar to that of Joe.

The Thunder have had unfortunate injury luck to start the 2025-26 campaign, but there is no team more equipped to face adversity than this Thunder team.