The Spurs put their rivalry with Oklahoma City aside to offer prayers and best wishes to Jalen Williams after he suffered what appeared to be a severe injury to his lower left leg in the Thunder's 108-101 home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Williams landed awkwardly after going up for a dunk and being fouled by Kris Dunn late in the game. He left the court on a stretcher in the hushed arena while his worried teammates looked on.
"You don't wish that on nobody," Devin Vassell said after practice Monday. "Prayers up to Jalen Williams and to his family. He's a hell of a competitor, great person."
A hamstring injury plagued Williams, 25, throughout the 2026 postseason, including during the Western Conference finals, which the Spurs won in seven games. He missed 49 games last season with an array of issues, including recovery from surgery on his right wrist.
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"I feel really bad for him," Julian Champagnie said. "He had an injury last year and was trying to work back from that last year. So it sucks to see him go down again. I wish the best for him. He's a great player. So I'm hoping he makes a speedy recovery and returns back to himself."
Williams, an All-Star in 2024-2025 when Oklahoma City won the NBA title, had 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 30 minutes in the Thunder's 116-104 victory over the Spurs in the season opener.
"Injuries are the, for the lack of vocabulary, the suckiest part of sports," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said last week when asked about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts suffering from a season-ending blood clot condition, the same ailment that cut Spurs star Victor Wembanyama's second season short in 2024-2025.
"Even our competitors, you don't want people to be injured and get hurt," Johnson added. "You want people at their best, you want people healthy. The amount of work that these players in all these professional sports put in, it just feels really unfortunate when they're not able to be on the field or the court or the rink or whatever they may be playing on."
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"Super important," Champagnie said of the need for the Spurs to reassert themselves at the Frost Bank Center after going 32-8 at home last season. "We got to protect home court."
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It should be noted, though, that one of the Spurs' two losses at "home" so far this season occurred last week in Austin at the Moody Center.
Vassell aids Harlandale: Vassell gave shoes and a donation to the Harlandale athletic program in an appearance at the South Side school on Monday afternoon a year after he gave similar gifts to athletes at Wagner in the Judson Independent School Districct.
"I'm excited to go over there," Vassell said after practice of visiting the Indians. "I try and do a little give back every year with the community and I'm excited to go over there and give some shoes. It's just going to be a good day.
"We always think about what's going on here (at the Spurs practice facility), but there's so much to the San Antonio community and they help us out so much. Without them, we're nothing. So I appreciate them and I love to give back to them."
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There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Jalen Williams' injury troubles Spurs.