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In Street Clothes

Covering sports injuries from the perspective of a certified athletic trainer and backed by analytics.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder entered the 2022-2023 knowing their final injury total would be high after rookie prospect Chet Holmgren suffered a Lisfranc injury in his right foot during the offseason. However, it was a pair of wrist injuries for Kenrich Williams and Ousmane Dieng and leg fracture for Aleksej Pokusevski that pushed the injury total into the bottom tier of the league. Despite these problematic injuries, the medical team, led by Vice President of Human and Player Performance Donne Strack and Senior Athletic Trainer Tony Katzenmeier, kept the core pieces of the OKC roster healthy as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Josh Giddey combined to miss 61 games less than they did the previous season. Healthy and able to play, the trio, along with rookie Jalen Williams, helped the Thunder qualify for a spot in the play-in tournament where they eventually were ousted by the Timberwolves. The group will enter the year with a healthy Holmgren, eager to build on last year’s success. Unfortunately, a hamstring strain for second-year big man Jaylin Williams will prevent the team from starting the season at full strength.

5 thoughts on “Oklahoma City Thunder”
  1. […] than eight months are never good and his risk for future problems continues to rise. Look for the well-established Thunder medical staff to handle this situation with the utmost care and give their guard ample time to […]

  2. […] as one of the best in the league. The Thunder, for instance, have “only” lost a little more than 22.2 million dollars in the last five years because of injured players (Contrast that with the Lakers’ 28.24 […]

  3. […] two seasons after the Thunder lost just 26 games to injury all year, the team finds itself ravaged by injuries and facing an extended period of time without its two […]

  4. […] as one of the best in the league. The Thunder, for instance, have “only” lost a little more than 22.2 million dollars in the last five years because of injured players (Contrast that with the Lakers’ 28.24 […]

  5. […] also in the middle of a bounce back season and leads the league in fewest games missed to injury. Just two years after missing 26 total games to injury, Oklahoma City endured an injury-riddled 2014-15 season that ended with 224 total games lost. Kevin […]

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