Thunder Rookie Has Surgery On Orbital Fracture

It was a rough indoctrination to the NBA Wednesday night. Just six minutes into his pro debut, Oklahoma City Thunder first-round pick (12th overall) Jalen Williams took an elbow to the eye, knocking him out of the game and out of the lineup for a while.

Jalen Williams suffered a bone fracture & underwent surgery, will be reevaluated in 7-10 days per Thunder PR pic.twitter.com/58MXkkKtIy

— TF (@ThunderFocus) October 21, 2022

Williams suffered a bone fracture and was forced to undergo surgery. He posted a picture of his swollen-shut eye on Instagram the next morning. The 21-year-old will be reevaluated by the Thunder in 7-10 days. 

Sports injury expert Jeff Stotts reports that the severity of Williams' injury depends on the bones involved, whether or not they've shifted, the fracture size, and if there's any soft tissue and/or muscle damage.

In the NBA, in-season injuries described as an orbital fracture that requires surgery result in an average time lost of 13 games (~3-4 weeks).

— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) October 21, 2022

Stotts describes orbital fractures requiring surgery as usually resulting in a 3-4 week recovery period for a player, missing an average of 13 games. 

It's a tough break for Williams and the Thunder, as the 6'6" shooting guard tantalized the team with his potential in the preseason, posting 14.4 points per game, 2.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.8 steals, while shooting 60.9% from the field. 

Photo: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports