Jalen Williams Set To Make Season Debut Against Phoenix Suns On Friday
Nov 28, 2025
At long last, OKC fans will get the season debut of J-Dub.
As per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Jalen Williams is set to play his first game of the 2025–26 campaign when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Phoenix Suns this Friday.
It’s been a long time coming for Williams, who underwent surgery on his injured wrist in the offseason. In total, the 24-year-old forward missed the first 19 games of the Thunder’s current season. To Oklahoma City’s credit, it has gone 18–1 in this span, thanks to the incredible performance of reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the two-way play of the supporting cast that includes Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Still, the Thunder would be better off with the return of Williams, who played at an All-Star level last year and staked his claim as the No. 2 option behind Gilgeous-Alexander. In the 2024–25 season, Williams averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
It’s possible, of course, that J-Dub’s return will impact the minutes of other OKC wings. One name that comes to mind is Ajay Mitchell, whose minutes per game went from 16.6 last year to 27.5 this season in Williams’ absence. Making the most of his increased playing time, Mitchell has taken a huge leap in his scoring production (15.9 ppg, up nearly 10 points from last season) to make a case for Most Improved Player.
As impressive as Mitchell has been, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault will likely lean toward heavy usage of Williams in the long run. But, while Mitchell could have an individual accolade to look forward to at the end of the season, Williams will have to come to terms with the fact that such honors won’t be coming his way.
That’s because Williams can no longer meet the 65-game minimum that the NBA has set for players to become eligible for awards like MVP and All-NBA selection. There are just 63 games left on the Thunder’s regular season schedule, and even if OKC makes it to the finals of the Emirates NBA Cup and Williams plays in that game, he’ll still fall short of the minimum.
Getting named to an All-NBA team would have triggered a salary increase in the contract extension that Williams signed this offseason. Nevertheless, he is set to make a much-awaited comeback to the hard court on Friday, thus marking the start of his quest to help the Thunder retain the NBA title.
