In this continuing series, Thunder Wire assigns three goals to each of the 21 players, per Spotrac, that make up the Oklahoma City Thunder roster.
The Thunder’s season kicks off on Oct. 25 against the Chicago Bulls. After a surprising 40-42 campaign that ended a win shy of the playoffs, OKC enters this year with playoff aspirations.
Buy Thunder TicketsLet’s assign three goals for Kenrich Williams. The 28-year-old wing had his season cut short last year when he underwent season-ending wrist surgery in March. Before then, he played a valuable role as OKC’s first wing off the bench who spot-started when needed.
Expect a similar type of role for him this upcoming season. It’s evident the Thunder value Williams highly due to his profile on and off the court.
Stay healthy
Durability has been a bit of a sneaky problem for Williams over the last two seasons. He was limited to 49 games in the 2021-22 season and played just 53 games last year. A wrist fracture prematurely ended his season in March.
While he hasn’t suffered any serious long-term injuries, all these minor injuries are starting to pile up for Williams. If he can stay healthy and be available by the end of the regular season, then that’s a big plus for him.
Mentor youngsters
Williams enters another season in OKC as one of the older veterans on the roster. That’s been the case for him his entire tenure with the Thunder since he first arrived in 2020.
The 28-year-old will be a key rotation player off the bench who can occasionally start. Considering how young the Thunder’s roster is, he’ll likely be viewed as a locker-room leader once more.
Attempt more free throws
Is this the season Williams finally averages more than one free-throw attempt? We shall see but there’s no denying his lack of free throws is a bit of an odd mystery.
His career high in attempts is 1.1 in the 2021-22 season. Despite being a decent 3-point shooter, Williams is a career 52% free-throw shooter. Very strange splits; usually a good 3-point shooter means a good free-throw shooter too.
It’s going to be fun to see if this weird trend continues for Williams or if he’ll finally enjoy a normal season from the charity stripe.
