Jalen Williams scores 33 to lead Thunder past Suns, who were eliminated from playoff race

PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Williams scored 33 points, Chet Holmgren added 22 and the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder beat Phoenix 125-112 on Wednesday night, eliminating the Suns from the playoff race.

Phoenix will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020 despite having a roster that included the high-priced All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

The Thunder have already wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and were without several key players on Wednesday, including All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defensive star Luguentz Dort and center Isaiah Hartenstein.

That didn't stop them from topping the Suns, who have lost eight straight.

Oklahoma City trailed for nearly the entire first half but rallied in the third quarter for a 105-93 advantage entering the fourth. Williams — who played high school basketball in suburban Phoenix — shot 13 of 23 from the field.

The Suns were led by Beal's 25 points. Booker added 20 points and 14 assists. Durant missed the game with a sprained ankle suffered last week.

Thunder: Oklahoma City won its 66th game of the season without three of its best players. The Thunder have won 21 of their past 23 and are just trying to stay heatlhy as the playoffs approach.

Suns: A miserable season will end without a trip to the postseason. Phoenix entered the season with championship aspirations, but the Durant-Booker-Beal combo never completely gelled and the supporting cast was inconsistent. First-year coach Mike Budenholzer might not be around to lead the team for a second as an offseason of upheavel looms.

The Thunder ended the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take control.

After starting the season with an 8-1 record, the Suns are 27-44.

The Thunder are on the road against the Jazz and the Suns host the Spurs on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins drives around Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe (11) drives around Phoenix Suns center Mason Plumlee during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) fights for the loose ball with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Dillon Jones drives on Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Phoenix Suns forward Royce O'Neale (00) knocks the ball away from Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

PIKE COUNTY, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 9, 2026--

Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) (Oklo), an advanced nuclear technology company, announced an agreement with Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) that advances Oklo’s plans to develop a 1.2 GW power campus in Pike County, Ohio, to support Meta’s data centers in the region. The agreement provides a mechanism for Meta to prepay for power and provide funding to advance project certainty for Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse deployment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260109127781/en/

Oklo will use the funds to secure nuclear fuel and advance Phase 1 of the project—supporting the development of clean, reliable power in Pike County that can scale up to 1.2 GW. Meta’s commitment enables Oklo to pursue development in southern Ohio. Oklo seeks to develop the project on 206 acres of land in Pike County owned by the company and formerly owned by the Department of Energy. The land purchase was facilitated in part by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI), a nonprofit working to reuse the land for regional development.

“Two years ago, Oklo shared its vision to build a new generation of advanced reactors in Ohio. Today, that vision is becoming a reality. We have finalized the purchase of over 200 acres in Pike County and are excited to announce this agreement in support of a multi-year effort with Meta to deliver clean energy and create long-term, high-quality jobs in Ohio,” said Jacob DeWitte, Oklo’s co-founder and CEO. "Meta’s funding commitment in support of early procurement and development activity is a major step in moving advanced nuclear forward.”

The agreement is expected to lay the foundation for constructing multiple Oklo Aurora powerhouses, creating thousands of construction and long-term operations jobs, expanding Ohio’s clean energy workforce, and generating new local and state tax revenues through investment in energy infrastructure.

Pre-construction and site characterization are slated to begin in 2026, with the first phase targeted to come online as early as 2030. The plans for the scalable powerhouse facility are expected to expand incrementally to deliver up to the full target of 1.2 GW by 2034.

Ohio’s location within the PJM interconnection—one of the nation’s largest grid systems—and its strong transmission network position it as a strategic hub for America’s clean energy growth as demand for artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure accelerates.

Oklo’s business model allows large energy users to fund their own generation and add new clean power to the grid supported by private capital investment. The agreement provides Oklo with the commercial support needed to advance the development of power infrastructure to support future data center capacity for Meta. This means that Meta is paying to help add more power to Ohio, which will support a reliable grid for all energy customers in the region. This project will also add local jobs to build and operate the nuclear facilities.

“Our agreement with Oklo enables the development of 1.2 gigawatts of nuclear energy in Southern Ohio, supporting Meta’s operations in the region—including our AI supercluster in New Albany. This project will create jobs, spur local innovation, and advance American leadership in energy technology. By investing in baseload nuclear energy, we’re helping build a resilient and sustainable future for our communities,” said Urvi Parekh, head of global energy, Meta.

The project aligns with the broader redevelopment efforts led by SODI to transform thousands of acres at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant—a symbol of national strength where local families played a key role in America’s national security efforts—into a hub for advanced manufacturing and clean energy.

“The project brings into focus the potential for the transformative impact the redevelopment of this site can have on our energy infrastructure and the reinvigoration of our community,” said Kevin Shoemaker, General Counsel at SODI. “We appreciate our strong partnership with Oklo and look forward to continuing to work with them to bring more jobs and economic opportunity to the region.”

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, affordable energy at global scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert used nuclear fuel into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that express Oklo’s opinions, expectations, objectives, beliefs, plans, intentions, strategies, assumptions, forecasts or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements.” The words “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “continue,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “goal,” “would,” “commit,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this press release and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the markets in which Oklo operates. Such forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties.

As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, the actual results or performance of Oklo may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The following important risk factors could affect Oklo’s future results and cause those results or other outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements: risks related to the development and deployment of Oklo’s powerhouses; the risk that Oklo is pursuing an emerging market with no commercial project operating and regulatory uncertainties; risks related to acquisitions, divestitures, or joint ventures we may engage in; the need for financing to construct plants, which remain subject to market, financial, political, and legal conditions; risks related to an inability to raise additional capital to support our business and sustain our growth on favorable terms; the effects of competition; risks related to accessing high-assay low-enriched uranium, plutonium, and other fuels at acceptable costs (including recycled fuels); risks related to our supply chain; risks related to power purchase agreements; risks related to human capital; risks related to our intellectual property; risks related to cybersecurity and data privacy; changes in applicable laws or regulations, including tariffs; the outcome of any government and regulatory proceedings and investigations and inquiries; and the other factors set forth in our documents we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties of the other documents filed by Oklo from time to time with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on Oklo. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Oklo will be those that Oklo has anticipated. Oklo undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this presentation, except as may be required by law.

Oklo Aurora powerhouse (Image: Oklo)