Is Jalen Williams playing vs. Lakers today? Injury update for Thunder star

Fresh off an opening-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns, the Oklahoma City Thunder will continue their title defense tonight as their second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers tips off at Paycom Center. OKC is the heavy favorite over the Luka Doncic-less Lakers, but they’ll also be down one of their own key players for Game 1 Tuesday, May 5 with star forward Jalen Williams still sidelined.

Williams, who sustained a grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 2 against Phoenix, has been officially listed as out for Game 1 on Tuesday in the latest NBA injury report.

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Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault told reporters Monday, May 4 that Williams was “progressing according to plan,” but declined to put a timeline on his return.

“We’re not going to release that,” Daigneault told reporters. “We’ll continue to let you guys know on a week-to-week basis.”

Here’s what to know about Williams’ status against the Lakers:

Is Jalen Williams playing tonight?

No. As stated above, Williams is listed as out for Game 1 on Tuesday and is considered week-to-week with a left hamstring strain.

The Thunder aren’t putting a definitive timeline for his return publicly, but reporting by The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, estimates that the usual recovery window for a grade 1 hamstring strain is 1-2 weeks. Williams went down on April 22, so that would theoretically put his return sometime around Games 3-5.

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Williams exited in the third quarter when he went up for a layup attempt, grabbed his left hamstring after landing back on the court and has not played since.

The 2025-26 season has been a frustrating one for Williams, who established himself as an All-Star last season and was one of OKC’s biggest contributors to their title run. But injuries have added up over the course of this season.

Williams underwent wrist surgery after the NBA Finals, which forced him to miss the start of the regular season. He later missed 49 games with a right hamstring strain.

Jalen Williams stats

Jalen Williams averaged 17.1 points and 5.5 assists per game this season, a major reason the team posted the best record in the league this…

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Publish date : 2026-05-05 11:02:00

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