Jalen Williams is active and in uniform for the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 of their Western Conference finals matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. He is reportedly available to play, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
However, Williams is not in the starting five and was still listed as questionable on the injury report leading right up until game time. He did not initially participate in the Thunder’s layup line as both teams took the court, but joined his teammates with five minutes remaining on the pregame clock.
Williams, 25, was sidelined for the previous two games of the series due to a lingering left hamstring injury. He was listed as questionable on the Thunder’s injury report on Wednesday, but after going through pregame warmups appeared ready to give.
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The fourth-year forward played Game 1 of the West finals, but re-aggravated his hamstring in Game 2. Prior to that, Williams missed six consecutive playoff games for the Thunder, including their four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
Ajay Mitchell remains out of the Thunder lineup with a calf strain that sidelined him for Games 4 and 5 of the series. He was ruled out for Game 6 on Wednesday and his status for a return, either in a Game 7 versus the Spurs or Game 1 of the NBA Finals is uncertain.
With Williams and Mitchell out, Jared McCain got the start in Game 5 and scored 20 points, his second-highest total of the postseason. It was also the second time he’s scored 20 or more against the Spurs.
During the regular season, Williams was Oklahoma City’s second-leading scorer, averaging 17.1 points per game (tied with Chet Holmgren). He added 4.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 30% on 3-pointers.
In four postseason games, Williams is scoring 17.7 points, four rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He’s shot 5-for-11 from long range.
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