The Oklahoma City Thunder’s rotation will be different for the rest of the season following the injury to swingman Kenrich Williams. The 28-year-old was injured in Oklahoma City’s March 2 game against the Sacramento Kings, diagnosed as a scapholunate ligament rupture in his left wrist.
Williams underwent successful surgery on his left wrist in New York on Tuesday. The veteran is expected to make a full recovery but will be sidelined for the rest of the 2022-2023 regular season.
Williams ends the season averaging 8 points, 4.9 rebounds and two assists in 22.8 minutes over 55 games. He signed a three-year, $20.01 million extension earlier in the season as he is expected to play a long-term role in the team’s plans.
Thunder PR:
Kenrich Williams underwent a successful procedure today to repair the scapholunate ligament in his left wrist. The procedure was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY, with Thunder medical personnel present.
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) March 7, 2023
Williams is a captain on the team and was asked during the press conference following the game he suffered the injury about lifting the younger players following a bad loss.
“Just keep going. It’s one game. Everybody goes through it. I go through it was a part of the game. This is the beauty of the game.” said Williams. “You get a chance to come back tomorrow and play the game that we love to play. And I’m I know for sure those guys will respond well tomorrow, so not worried about that.”
The Thunder are still in range of postseason contention but will need to leap several teams with time running out on the year.
