Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams provided a live update on his recovery, videobombing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's postgame interview with ESPN. Gilgeous-Alexander turned in another 30+ point performance, his tenth of the regular season, in a 121-92 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Then, Williams videobombed Gilgeous-Alexander's interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews.

“ESPN, I still play basketball, I swear,” Williams said.

Williams underwent a second wrist procedure last month, extending his recovery time by another 2 weeks, which puts us within the next few days of a potential new update on his regular-season debut. In the meantime, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's tenth 30+ point performance in twelve tries led seven Thunder players in double figures as Oklahoma City dominated the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back.

Isaiah Joe's 21 points and five assists led the Thunder's bench. Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren both scored 11 points to combine for 22 on 9-of-13 attempts, and Alex Caruso and Ousmane Dieng both scored 10 points off the bench. Improving to 12-1 on the season, Oklahoma City holds the best record in the NBA.

Mark Daigneault hints at an increased role for Thunder rookie

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Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault watches his team play against the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter at Paycom Center
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

While Thunder second-year guard Ajay Mitchell has been one of the bigger storylines to the defending champion's dominant start to the 2025-26 campaign, this year's second-round pick, Brooks Barnhizer, is making headway. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault discussed the rookie's development as one of the many examples of his younger players stepping up amid All-Star Jalen Williams' recovery.

Daigneault sees an ideal approach for a rookie in Barnhizer.

“The biggest thing that he's done is come in with the right approach, attitude, work ethic, and competitive level — that's the thing that stands out,” Daigneault said. “Some guys, when they come into the NBA, they have to learn the level of competition that the game requires, and doesn't have to learn that. He has to learn a lot, but that's not one of the things he has to learn. That's been impressive — it's been great.”

Barnhizer's is yet another example of how quickly a rookie can adapt to the Thunder's culture. The second-round pick has been spending time with both Oklahoma City's G League affiliate, Blue, and the Thunder amidst the first month of his NBA career.