Oklahoma City is no stranger to injury issues, but it will be dealing with a much different situation than it had early last season.
Entering opening night in 2024-25, Chet Holmgren was the Thunder’s only available big man. With Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams sidelined to start the season, Holmgren’s pelvic fracture just a couple of weeks into the season left Oklahoma City without any bigs for several games.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, their injury report is again far from clean in the early stages of the season. However, Thursday night’s Finals rematch in Indiana will feature a much different injury situation than Oklahoma City saw to begin last season.
With Jalen Williams, Nikola Topic, Kenrich Williams and Isaiah Joe all sidelined on opening night, the Thunder were beaten up against the Houston Rockets. Alex Caruso is in concussion protocol now, and Lu Dort and Cason Wallace are entering this matchup as questionable.
Interestingly enough, the Thunder’s big men are all free from the injury report, aside from Thomas Sorber, who suffered a torn ACL in the offseason and won’t be playing at any point this season. Still, with Holmgren, Hartenstein and Williams all ready for action, the Thunder can’t shy away from the power they have inside.
With the Pacers also dealing with backcourt injury issues, the Thunder might not be in an awful situation on that front, but they still need to take advantage of having all of their frontcourt available. With Hartenstein being a bruiser inside, Holmgren showing a new bag of tricks in the opener and Williams ready to take on whatever role is needed, the Thunder might be able to give Indiana’s new-look frontcourt a rude awakening.
Jun 19, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) shoots the ball against Indiana Pacers center Tony Bradley (13) during the first half of game six of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
With Myles Turner out of the picture, the Pacers are trying to figure out who their top big man will be this season. With Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, Tony Bradley and James Wiseman all potentially getting minutes inside against the Thunder, Oklahoma City should have the upper hand at center.
With the Thunder also likely running one of their three bigs at the four for a large chunk of the night, finding ways to use their size and overpower Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker and others will be critical. With Indiana having the personnel to go small, it will also be crucial for Mark Daigneault to find ways to exploit any smaller lineups Rick Carlisle throws on the floor.
With so many guys out at guard and on the wing, it will be tough for the Thunder to win, but it’s clear that their big men will need to lead that charge.
