OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – FEBRUARY 27: Jalen Williams #8 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates after a dunk during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Paycom Center on February 27, 2024 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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It’s been an unusual offseason for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s rising superstar, Jalen Williams. But it’s been a summer that might end up being the catalyst for him emerging as a top-10 player in the entire NBA very soon.
After a breakout 2024-25 season that saw him become an NBA All-Star, All-Defensive Second Team selection, and All-NBA Third Teamer, Williams spent his offseason recovering from wrist surgery on his dominant right hand. What appeared to be a setback could quietly evolve into the kind of developmental leap that changes a career.
Coming off a year where he officially cemented himself as a top-25 player in the league, Williams is on the verge of entering that top-10 conversation if he takes another step forward. He’s one of the league’s most well-rounded young stars, capable of impacting the game at both ends, and he spent this summer becoming a global face of the sport. From traveling the world with adidas to gracing the cover of SLAM Magazine, his profile has exploded.
But what’s made this offseason so fascinating isn’t the fame or the accolades. It’s the fact that he hasn’t been able to use his right hand.
Following Oklahoma City’s championship run, it was revealed that Williams had been playing through a significant wrist injury for months, as he had torn his scapholunate ligament. Late in the regular season and throughout the playoffs, he was dealing with so much pain in his shooting hand that he required injections and had to alter his shooting mechanics just to stay on the floor.
Many players would’ve shut it down. Instead, Williams had one of the most impressive stretches of his young career, including a 40-point performance in Game 5 of the NBA Finals while playing with a wrist that was anything but reliable.
“I got 28 or 29 shots in my hand throughout the playoffs. I was like that can’t be for nothing, we have to win,” Williams said in a YouTube video giving more detail to the public after the playoffs.
Shortly after the season ended, Williams underwent surgery to repair the ligament damage. And since then, he’s spent nearly the entire offseason unable to use his right hand in the gym — not for shooting, not for lifting, not for any of his usual development work.
For a player entering his fourth NBA campaign, when offseason growth is usually critical, that sounds like a setback. But in reality, it might be one of the best things that could’ve happened for his long-term development.
“I got work in. It forced me to be really creative, me and my trainers who I had in my camp. It’s hard to do the same drills over and over again, especially when you’re in a cast. So we got pretty creative as the summer progressed,” Williams told the media this week.
Williams was already a crafty and versatile finisher with both hands before this summer. His ability to get to the rim and score with power or finesse is one of the hallmarks of his game. But spending months exclusively working on his left hand could be what forces him to level up in ways that most players only reach later in their careers. He’s gone through countless live-dribble reps with his offhand this summer, tightening his handle and learning new ways to create going left.
This should result in him finishing through contact more comfortably with his left, adding new off-hand short to midrange shots — floaters, turnarounds, even baby hooks — to his arsenal. As a passer, he will likely become more dynamic driving and playmaking left, able to fit the ball into tighter windows and manipulate defenses from different angles.
“I think having the wrist surgery I think was a really good thing for me. It allowed me to be grounded and kind of focus on that and forget about the championship and everything else,” Williams said on Monday to kick off training camp. “I think it was a blessing being hurt. I got to work on it a ton, all summer. It’s been a really cool evolution to just feel how much better my touch has got. Not having my right hand, it really forces my workouts or be really creative. That’s been a really fun and challenging thing. I think it just made me a better player, especially mentally.”
Essentially, this summer might have accelerated his natural progression toward becoming a fully ambidextrous scorer and playmaker. And the irony is that Williams was already one of the most well-rounded players in the NBA. On offense, he can do just about everything. On defense, he can guard all five positions. Now, if his left-hand development translates the way it appears it could, he’s about to become even more unpredictable. Already a masterful finisher with both hands, his skill as a multi-faceted scorer could now reach new heights.
There’s even a previous parallel that fits here, and one that has to do with Williams’ idol, Kobe Bryant.
Former NBA wing Matt Barnes has told stories about watching a young Bryant working out exclusively with his left hand after suffering an injury to his right wrist/hand. Bryant came back with a deeper bag of left-hand counters and finishing moves.
“I saw him [Bryant] doing full left-handed workouts like he was a left-handed player. In-and-out dribbles, jumpers, all that. Just using his guide hand as the cast but shooting legit left-handed shots.” Barnes recalled in an interview. “That was the next year when he came back shooting all those left-handed shots, even when he didn’t really need to, but he could.”
It’s not hard to imagine Williams following a similar trajectory as Bryant in that respect, given the reps with his off-hand.
The big wrinkle will come when he fully regains use of his right hand. He’ll have to rebuild rhythm with his shooting hand after months away, which can take time. At Media Day on Monday, Williams gave insight into where he’s at with his right wrist, noting that he still has a ways to go.
“It’s like if you put Laffy Taffy in the freezer, then tried to bend it,” Williams explained when asked to describe the feeling in his wrist as he continues to rehab.
But once that happens, OKC might be looking at a player who can comfortably operate pick and rolls on either side, create efficiently going left or right and attack defenses from every angle.
For a 24-year-old who’s already a matchup nightmare, that’s trouble for the rest of the league. Jalen Williams’ left-handed offseason could be a significant positive milestone in what projects to be a long, successful career.