How Does Recent Injury Impact Thunder?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have announced that Kenrich Williams will be sidelined to start the season, what does that mean for the future?

Mar 27, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (34) dribbles the ball down the court against the Houston Rockets during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The NBA season is right around the corner, with preseason beginning in less than a month and opening night just five weeks ago, the anticipation is high for the 2024-25 campaign.

Especially in Bricktown, where the Oklahoma City Thunder are poised to be contenders with many projecting an NBA Finals appearance for the young squad that won their first playoff series since 2016 last April.

With expectations sky high for the OKC Thunder after adding Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso to an already 57-win roster, it feels as though little can hold Oklahoma City back. That is besides injuries.

A year ago, the Thunder were supremely lucky with injuries rarely popping up and never derailing long stretches of their season. Though, even with that luck, things were not perfect. Veteran forward Kenrich Williams suffered a back injury last training camp and is once again sidelined before opening night this season.

"Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams underwent a successful arthroscopic debridement procedure in his right knee today at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY, with Thunder medical personnel present.  Williams will be re-evaluated after the preseason," the team announced on Tuesday.

Williams at times last year looked stiff and sluggish making it hard to not feel as though the back injury suffered in the preseason lingered into the regular season to the point the once staple struggled to crack Mark Daigneault's rotation by year's end.

Ultimately, the TCU products' status for opening night in Denver is still unknown, but the Thunder have the luxury of being able to slow play it with one of their emotional leaders who Daigneault touts as a guy who will line out anyone who doesn't live up to the Oklahoma City standard.

The difference in getting off to a hot start record-wise will likely not lean on if the swingman can play. The Thunder are still 10 or more players deep without the 29-year-old.

Williams becomes more meaningful as the season goes along, so not rushing him back would be wise from Oklahoma City. As the games get more intense, chippy and an edge is required, few Thunder players can match the physicality Williams brings to the table.

Ensuring Williams is as healthy as can be for when those dates on the calendar arrive are far more important than worrying over missing time before Thanksgiving.

Last season, the 6-foot-6 forward averaged 4.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 stocks while shooting 46 percent from the floor, 39 percent from beyond the arc and 50 percent at the charity stripe.

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