Jalen Williams had some glorious performances within the NBA Finals, and he later revealed that he was battling the identical damage that when plagued Kobe Bryant.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could have been the perfect participant on the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, however there’s an argument to be made that they might not have received the NBA Finals with out Jalen Williams.
In his first All-NBA season, Williams posted 21.6 factors, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. In Sport 5 of the Finals, he scored 40 factors and completed with averages of 23.6 factors. Throughout the complete season and postseason, he was a dependable second choice for the Thunder.
Nevertheless, he would later reveal that he spent the complete postseason affected by a torn scapholunate ligament in his wrist, stopping him from really being at his greatest.
Three video games from the tip of the common season, Williams and Devin Booker acquired snarled, leading to Williams tearing ligaments in his wrist, one thing he mentioned he might “hear” because it occurred.
He would go on to overlook the ultimate two video games, however by then the Thunder had clinched the primary seed within the Western Convention. He didn’t miss a single recreation within the postseason, even when he was tempted to sit down out, as a torn ligament can usually take a month or extra to recuperate from.
“I simply keep in mind like pulling my hand out of the combination,” he mirrored.
“It was like a few individuals concerned within the soar ball. I keep in mind pulling my hand out of the combination, bro. And like I simply, I type of heard like, nearly like a paper ripping noise.”
Williams would go on to take aspirin, cortisone, and lidocaine to take care of the ache, and he performed by it, being probably the greatest gamers within the league within the postseason.
Within the preseason earlier than the 2011-2010 season, Kobe Bryant tore his lunotriquetral ligament, which is fairly just like Williams’ damage.
Bryant ended up taking injections and performed within the first 56 video games of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 NBA season, main the Los Angeles Lakers to the playoffs, the place they misplaced to the Thunder within the second spherical.
That marketing campaign was one of many final nice seasons for Bryant. He got here fourth in MVP voting and led the league in subject objective makes an attempt whereas scoring 27.9 factors per recreation, the sixth-most of his profession.
“They have been telling me, and I don’t wish to make this like a Kobe factor, however that was one of many folks that that they had introduced up that had accomplished it earlier than and performed by it,” Williams mentioned. “So that they have been saying it was doable.”
Very similar to Bryant, Williams was unwilling to sit down out and watch his group play with out him. In contrast to Bryant, the Thunder have been in a position to get the job accomplished and hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
