Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Tears Up After Jalen Williams Is Stretchered Off Court with Horrific Leg Injury

Jalen WilliamsCredit: Zach Beeker/NBAE via GettyNEED TO KNOWJalen Williams suffered a gruesome ankle injury during Sunday’s gameThe Oklahoma City Thunder star fell onto his lower left leg after going up for a layup in the waning minutes of the gameTeammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander teared up talking about the loss of Williams after the gameAs his Oklahoma City Thunder teammates looked on in seeming disbelief and shock, Jalen Williams suffered a gruesome injury on Sunday, Oct. 25 in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers.Williams, 25, fell on his left ankle while driving to the basket late in the game and immediately collapsed to the floor. In the immediate moments afterward, Paycom Center went silent as players including reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander draped their faces in towels as if to un-see the injury, which resulted in Williams being taken off the floor on a stretcher.No immediate update has been provided on Williams’ injury as of Monday morning.Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!The former Santa Clara standout’s injury comes three games into the season and after a year in which he missed 49 games due to a variety of injuries including a hamstring strain and recovery from wrist surgery.In an interview with the team’s sideline reporter Nick Gallo after the Thunder won, 108-101 — and as Thunder players kept a respectful but unusual distance behind him in support — Gilgeous-Alexander had trouble keeping his composure.Jalen WilliamsCredit: Joshua Gateley/Getty“Just feel bad for him,” the Thunder All-Star guard, 28, said, fighting back tears. “Nothing more than that.”Thunder coach Mark Daigneault summed up the team’s collective emotions in the post-game presser.“We’re not doing great,” Daigneault, 41, said.For Williams, who played a key role on the 2025 NBA championship team and has averaged 17.9 points per game over his first 251 career starts, the timing of the injury is heartbreaking — and it’s also such for the Oklahoma community, where he’s a beloved player. “Our whole city will have JDub in our thoughts and prayers as he deals with this adversity and as he makes his way through his recovery,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt posted on social media after the game.Read the original article on People