Thunder officially announce Jalen Williams' injury! Grade 1 hamstring strain requires weekly review, average absence for this injury is 12.4 days.

On April 24 Beijing time, the Thunder officially announced today: Jalen Williams has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and will undergo weekly evaluation and review. Although Williams is highly unlikely to play in the team's first-round series against the Suns, the good news is that a Grade 1 strain is the mildest level of this injury, far less severe than Grade 2 (partial tear) and Grade 3 (complete tear), and the recovery period is relatively shorter.

Sports injury information reporter Jeff Stotts revealed that the average absence time for players suffering a Grade 1 hamstring strain is about 12.4 days.

The Thunder defeated the Suns 120-107 on Thursday, taking a 2-0 lead in the first-round series (best-of-seven), but an injury in the third quarter cast a shadow over this victory. According to ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon, star forward Jalen Williams suffered a sudden left hamstring injury, left the game early, and did not return.

Williams strained his leg while landing after a fast-break layup. MacMahon added that the 25-year-old star clearly mouthed "left hamstring" and then voluntarily called for a foul to exit the game. He did not speak to media after the game, and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault briefly updated the situation in the post-game press conference.

“The initial assessment is a recurrence of his left hamstring issue. We will conduct further examinations in the coming days and update the injury status promptly,” Daigneault said at that time.

Jalen Williams was selected to the All-NBA Team and All-Defensive Team last season (2024-25), but this season he has been plagued by injuries. He delayed his season debut due to wrist surgery, and during the mid-season he suffered two right hamstring issues leading to long absences, playing only 33 games in the regular season.

As the defending champion, the Thunder have top-tier depth in the league. This season, when Williams was absent, the team achieved a record of 39 wins and 10 losses; in games he played, the team's record was 25 wins and 8 losses.

Before the injury occurred, he was performing well in this playoffs: in the first game he scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, and in the second game before exiting in the third quarter due to injury, he efficiently scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting.