Thunder's Jalen Williams: Cleared to play Monday

Williams (hamstring) has been removed from the Thunder injury report and will be available to play Monday against the 76ers.

Williams has missed the Thunder's past 16 games after aggravating a right hamstring strain in Oklahoma City's penultimate contest before the All-Star break, but after an extended period of rest and recovery, he's ready to return to action. Given the length of his absence, Williams will likely be eased in with a relatively light workload, and he'll presumably operate with a minute restriction for multiple games. His return Monday -- even in a limited capacity -- will likely lower the minutes ceilings of nearly all of the Thunder's wing and forward options. Before his latest shutdown, Williams had appeared in 26 games for Oklahoma City and averaged 17.5 points, 5.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.8 three-pointers in 29.1 minutes while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from downtown.