SGA fights tears after Jalen Williams stretchered off in Thunder win

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fights tears after Jalen Williams stretchered off in Thunder win

By Olamilekan Ajayi | Last updated Oct 26, 2026 9:44 AM ET

Jalen Williams left the floor at Paycom Center on a stretcher on Sunday night after injuring his lower left leg while being fouled on a drive with 1:14 remaining in the Thunder's 108-101 win over the Clippers.

Play was halted for about five minutes while medical staff attended to him beneath the basket, and players from both teams reacted with visible alarm as the stretcher came out.

When Williams looked down at his leg, his hands went to his mouth and then to the top of his head before a staffer covered it with a towel. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the closest teammate to the play, pressed his face into his jersey and crouched beside him.

"Just feel bad for him. Nothing more than that," Gilgeous-Alexander said in his postgame interview, fighting back tears.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, six rebounds and five assists.

"He just loves playing, loves the competition," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Shai can’t even do his interview without crying https://t.co/HkDHZcbBxY
— wave (@404xwavey) October 26, 2026

J-Dub suffered a GRUESOME injury SGA was in TEARS https://t.co/pEC2fAKnDL
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) October 26, 2026

What the Thunder know about Jalen Williams' injury so far

Williams had eight points in 32 minutes, along with five assists and two steals, before the injury. Oklahoma City did not announce a diagnosis Sunday night, and head coach Mark Daigneault said the team would be briefed Monday morning.

"We're not doing great," Daigneault said.

Leg trouble shaped most of Williams' last season when he missed 49 games, largely with hamstring problems, a year after he helped Oklahoma City win the 2025 championship. The Thunder also lost Cason Wallace to a left shoulder injury and Jaylin Williams to right wrist soreness in the first half on Sunday. Daigneault noted the 3-0 Thunder have no room in the schedule to pause, with Phoenix visiting Paycom Center on Monday.

"We don't have a choice. It's what we signed up for. It's obviously going to be tough without a player like that. He's not gone forever. He'll be back better than ever. We know it. We've just got to hold the fort down until he comes back," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

Olamilekan Ajayi

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