Jalen Williams will return to the court for the first time in over five weeks Monday, when his Oklahoma City Thunder face the Philadelphia 76ers, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
Williams has played just two games since mid-January because of a right hamstring strain. He initially suffered the injury on Jan. 17 and sat out the Thunder's next 10 contests. Williams made his first return Feb. 9 and scored 23 points in 24 minutes, but he re-aggravated the strain two nights later and hasn't played since.
His return should give the defending NBA champions a boost heading into the postseason. Oklahoma City entered Sunday sitting first in the Western Conference with a three-game lead on the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder have 11 games left in the regular season.
Williams, now in his fourth NBA season, has played just 26 games this year due to both the hamstring strain and his recovery from offseason wrist surgery.
The 24-year-old has been effective when healthy, averaging 17.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.3 steals this season.
