OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder guard/forward Jalen Williams sat out his team's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night with a nagging right hamstring injury, and he could miss more action.
The team plans to re-evaluate Williams after the NBA All-Star break, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Thursday. The game against Milwaukee was Oklahoma City’s last before All-Star Weekend.
Last season, Williams was an All-Star, a third-team All-NBA selection and a second-team All-Defense pick who helped Oklahoma City win the championship. He missed the first month of this season while recovering from a wrist injury he suffered late last season and played through during the playoffs.
It is Williams’ second time being sidelined with the hamstring injury over the past month. He first hurt it during the Thunder's Jan. 17 game against the Heat, clutching his leg after attempting to grab an awkward pass in the second quarter. He later was ruled out and missed the next 10 games.
He looked like the star he was last season when he returned to game action on Monday night, helping the Thunder to a 119-110 win against the Lakers with a 23-point performance.
“Against L.A., he was obviously a little rusty in the first half, but he tried to play with tremendous force in that game," Daigneault said. "And then as the game wore on, especially in his last stint against the Lakers, he was really on the gas. Really closed that game for us offensively.”
He followed that with a season-high 28 points on 11-for-12 shooting in a 136-109 win in Phoenix on Wednesday.
“He obviously had a loud statistical night and great shot making,” Daigneault said. “Got himself to the line a little bit, found shooters, found rollers.”
The Thunder also are without reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander due to an abdominal strain. He also will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break.
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams drives between Phoenix Suns guard Jordan Goodwin (23) and Amir Coffey during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia’s parliament on Friday appointed right-wing populist politician Janez Jansa as the new prime minister, in a shift for the small European Union country that was previously run by a liberal government.
Lawmakers backed Jansa in a 51-36 vote in the 90-member assembly. The new prime minister will need to come back to Parliament within the next 15 days for another vote to confirm his future Cabinet.
Jansa's appointment concludes a postelection stalemate in Slovenia after a parliamentary ballot two months ago ended practically in a tie. Former liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob's Freedom Movement won by a thin margin but he was unable to muster a parliamentary majority.
Jansa and his populist Slovenian Democratic Party signed a coalition agreement this week with several right-wing groups. The new government also has the backing of a nonestablishment Truth party that first emerged as an anti-vaccination movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new term in office will be the fourth for the veteran Slovenian politician. Jansa, 67, is an admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump and was a close ally of former populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election last month.
Jansa in a speech listed the economy, fight against corruption and red tape, and decentralization as key goals of the future government. He has promised to lower taxes for the rich and support private education and healthcare.
Critical of the previous government's alleged “inefficiency," Jansa said the new government will turn Slovenia into “a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted."
Like Orban, Jansa was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge migration wave to Europe in 2015. Also like Orban, Jansa has faced accusations of clamping down on democratic institutions and press freedoms during a previous term in 2020-2022. This led to protests at the time, and scrutiny from the European Union.
Golob in his speech described Jansa as “the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy."
Alleging that Jansa had threatened to arrest him, Golob said Jansa's "idea of democracy is that anyone who dares speak a word against you deserves only the worst.”
Jansa, a supporter of Israel, also has been a stern critic of the Golob government's 2024 recognition of a Palestinian state.
The vote on March 22 was marred by allegations of foreign influence and corruption. The around 2 million people in the Alpine nation are deeply divided between liberals and conservatives.
Janez Jansa, center, addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)
Janez Jansa arrives for a session of the Slovenian Parliament in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)
Janez Jansa addresses the Slovenian Parliament during a session in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Friday, May 22, 2026, before appointing him as prime minister, ending a political deadlock after tight elections in March. (AP Photo/Igor Kupljenik)
