DENVER — Jalen Williams didn’t need his wrist to be pristine. Just sturdy enough for the moment.
The breath of the Thunder’s season was suspended as he caught the ball alone in the corner. Barely over a minute to play. He flowed through his form at full speed without a body within 10 feet of him.
Wrist, be good.
Ask — and plead and ache and endure — and you shall receive. Williams drained perhaps the biggest shot of his life, a corner 3 to earn a one-possession lead in the Thunder’s 112-105 Game 5 win. On his trip down the floor, he screamed at his wrist like an annoying collect caller. What he shouted was “probably something not appropriate.”
Williams wouldn’t admit to any trouble with his wrist. The same wrist he had a listed injury history with during the tail end of the season. It began in early February, when a “right wrist sprain” sidelined him a couple games. Then it resurfaced in early March, when he missed a forgettable win over the Portland Trail Blazers with the same injury.
“(Williams) obviously has been dealing with the nagging thing on his wrist,” guard Alex Caruso said before the series, “which maybe doesn’t feel great. But you’d never tell with the way he’s out there.
“I think that mentality of just going out and playing and doing whatever it takes to win — when your best players are your most competitive guys, everybody else has to fall in line.”
At different points this round, Williams could be seen working out with variations of tape around the wrist. The moment he shared with a sensitive limb seemed to be a point of relief.
“Am I allowed to talk about that or no?” Williams said when asked about the sequence, turning to the Thunder’s head of communications, Matt Tumbleson.
“I don’t even remember that, to be honest,” Williams continued, playing oblivious. “I probably gotta look at a clip or something.”
Williams’ shooting has been rocky this round. He’s enjoyed heights — 32 points on 21 shots in Game 3 — and lows — 10 points on 2-of-13 shooting the following game. He’s made just 24.1% of his 3s. He’s hit 44% of his 2s. None of it mattered when Williams stood alone with OKC’s season on the line.
These playoffs — inviting soreness and aches, bruises and sprains — don’t take excuses well.
“My wrist has been bothering me?” Williams quipped, further leaning into oblivion. “I feel great.
“Man, I’ve had tape on so much (expletive) during the season,” Williams laughed. “Nah, my wrist is cool. I honestly don’t even — that was an out-of-body experience. I just remember hitting the 3 and it was really loud, and then I remember getting to the bench and (Jaylin Williams) was yelling at me and I (heard) that ringing noise.”
For a moment, his wrist slipped his mind. He surrendered himself to a chaotic crowd. His eardrums buzzed. His shot was season-changing. It made him think about all the things he could do.
“When it’s loud in there, and you have that much energy,” Williams said, “it might make you do a backflip.”
Could he if he wanted to?
“No. I sure wouldn’t have tried up three.”
Joel Lorenzi covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joel? He can be reached at jlorenzi@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @joelxlorenzi. Support Joel’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Thunder vs. Nuggets playoff schedule
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