Thunder's Jalen Williams will need surgery for a broken leg and dislocated ankle

Oklahoma City guard Jalen Williams will need surgery to repair a broken left fibula and dislocated left ankle, the latest significant blows to a Thunder franchise that has dealt with a number of injury-related issues in recent seasons.

There isn't a timetable for Williams' return and one won't be set until after the surgery, general manager Sam Presti said Monday — but given the history of such injuries, it's reasonable to think Williams could miss the rest of the season.

“Dub, as everybody knows, is as tough as they come,” Presti said at a news conference in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder were set to host Phoenix later Monday. “He's an elite competitor. Even last night, just miraculous in terms of his outlook and the way he's looking forward to attacking this. We're going to be with him the entire way.”

It was a double gut punch for the Thunder on Monday, with the team also revealing that forward Cason Wallace will need surgery to repair a left labral tear. Like Williams, Wallace was injured on Sunday in Oklahoma City's 108-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The timetable for Wallace's return also will be set after surgery, but such procedures typically require several months of rehabilitation. Williams was an All-Defensive team selection in 2024-25; Wallace was picked to that team last season.

“Tough night last night,” Presti said. “There's no way to paint that differently. We say within our walls all the time there's a difference between being positive and being optimistic. Not going to sit up here and say this is exactly where we want to be or this is how we'd like to have it, but at the same time, we're extremely optimistic about the recovery for both the players. Most importantly, things could have been a lot worse.”

The Thunder have experienced major injury-related challenges in recent years, including Chet Holmgren missing the entirety of what would have been his rookie season with a foot issue. The team's 2024 first-round pick, Nikola Topic, missed all but 10 games in the previous two seasons — first because of a torn ACL, then with testicular cancer. And Williams missed 49 regular-season games a year ago with an array of issues, mostly wrist and hamstring problems.

“We’ve had some tough, uniquely tough, circumstances over the last few years,” Presti said. “One of the things I tried to say to the staff this morning when I talked to them was we can’t get to the point where we feel like this is a common situation. But that being said, it’s our situation.”

Williams was injured on a drive with 1:14 remaining against the Clippers. He was tended to almost immediately by medical personnel after going down underneath the basket on the Thunder’s offensive end.

Williams’ ankle was draped by towels and players from both teams reacted with dismay and disbelief as a stretcher was brought out. The game was stopped for about five minutes.

Williams — who has averaged 17.9 points in 251 games over his first five seasons — has already been an All-Star and an All-NBA selection, and he was a huge part of the Thunder team that won the 2025 NBA title.

The Thunder entered this season as a co-favorite with the Spurs to win the NBA title. Oklahoma City will — in time — likely make some decisions about applying for a disabled player exception or even using its stockpile of future draft picks to try and make trades and keep a title-hopeful team in contention.

Those conversations, for now, can wait.

“I haven't thought about anything related to the roster spot,” Presti said.

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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) drives past Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland (10) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams is taken off the court by medical staff during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams, right, drives past Los Angeles Clippers guard Keaton Wagler, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams is attended to by medical staff during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan carried out airstrikes against armed groups in Syria in retaliation for Friday’s attack on a Greek Orthodox Church in the southern Jordanian city of Karak that killed nine people, the Jordanian air force said in a statement.

It said the operation “resulted in the killing and wounding of many members of these terrorist groups and the destruction of a number of their vehicles.” It did not specify who the groups were or the precise location of the strikes.

The operation sparked an outcry in Syria, where officials said the Jordanian operation killed several civilians and was carried out without notifying Syrian authorities.

Syria’s civil defense agency said it had recovered the bodies of seven people killed in strikes in the southern Daraa and Sweida provinces. Five members of one family, including three children and a woman were killed together in a strike that hit a tent in rural Daraa province and three other family members were injured, it said. An 80-year-old man and a 60-year-old man were killed in separate strikes, it said.

The Syrian government said the Jordanian operation took place “without prior coordination or notification with the Syrian side.” It said Syrian authorities were investigating the circumstances of the incident and had opened communication channels with Jordan to discuss the situation.

Syria's General Authority for Ports and Customs later announced the closure of Syria's main border crossing with Jordan.

Earlier on Monday, Jordanian authorities arrested three men for last week's attack, which also wounded more than two dozen people. The arrests followed a dawn shootout, and all three men were wounded, officials said.

The attack struck the Greek Orthodox Church during a funeral in Karak, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of the capital, Amman, on Friday. Karak is home to a minority Christian population.

The attack shocked the nation, and Jordan declared three days of mourning for the victims. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and the attackers' motive remained unknown.

Later on Monday, the Public Security Directorate identified the three arrested men as brothers Hazzah Zaidan Mohammad and Mishal Zaidan Mohammad, and their brother-in-law Ahmad Sami Hussein. All three are Jordanian. They were taken into custody in Karak, south of Amman.

The agency's chief described the gunmen as “takfiri,” a term used for Sunni militants, but said they were not tied to any organized group.

“They only represent themselves,” Maj. Gen. Obaidallah Abd Rabbo Al-Maayta told a news conference. He also said a large cache of munitions was found in the abandoned house where Jordanian forces apprehended the men.

Jordan’s Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya said the attack by the three was the result of “a terroristic, extremist way of thinking.”

“If this way of thinking is not resolved, we will see incidents like this again,” he told reporters.

Jordan's King Abdullah II had ordered authorities to respond with “an iron fist” against what he called the outlaws of Islam and anyone attempting to undermine the unity of the Jordanian people.

“We vowed the terrorists would not escape punishment, and no proponent of dark ideologies that divide Jordanians will be tolerated,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Relatives of the victims said the arrests brought them some relief.

“Despite the profound and immense tragedy, what happened today has eased our grief — and the grief of the Jordanian people — not just for us, the families of the martyrs," Khaled al-Borqan, himself a survivor of the attack and a relative of three of the people killed, told Al-Mamlaka.

“Despite the sadness and pain, the news brought us joy,” Fares Halaseh, an uncle of one of the victims and a survivor of the attack, told the TV station.

But the pain remains, he added. "We will not forget this agony for years to come.”

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

Jordanian honor guards carry a flag-draped coffin of on of the victims killed in an attack on a Greek Orthodox church during their funeral procession in Karak, Jordan, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Armed Jordanian police officers patrol near mourners during the funeral of victims killed in an attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, Jordan, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

Relatives mourn as they hold a framed portrait of a victim killed in an attack on a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral ceremony in Karak, Jordan, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)