​The calendar has flipped to August. Which means we’re in the annual drought in the NBA’s year-round calendar. Don’t expect much to happen over the next couple of months. Teams across the league are in vacation mode and just waiting for the 2026-27 season to start.The Oklahoma City Thunder fell short of a second NBA championship, but remain in the meat of the title conversation. Bringing back mostly the same crew, expect them to be one of the league’s top teams for a fourth straight year.To prepare for the 2026-27 regular season, Thunder Wire will lay out three goals for all 17 players on the roster. OKC has 14 standard players and three two-way players. Let’s look at Jalen Williams and what he could accomplish this upcoming year:Health, health, healthThis is the top one for Williams. Everything went wrong for him in this department last year. He only played in 33 regular-season games and two whole NBA playoff games. He never had an honest chance to gain a rhythm with constant start-stop-start-stop movements. First, it was the two wrist surgeries that were caused by his decision to play through torn ligaments in OKC’s playoff run to a championship. And then he had a dreadful four hamstring strains in five months.We’ll never know how much of his injuries were avoidable compared to just bad luck. But Williams has to turn the page. He can’t afford another lost year in his prime. The Thunder mostly managed without him, but badly needed his talent in the NBA playoffs. You’re banking on last year being a one-year blip instead of the start of a disturbing trend.Return to All-Star formAfter Williams dropped 40 points in an NBA Finals win, he drew comparisons to Scottie Pippen. Nobody blinked an eye. That’s how special a breakout he had. One of the main reasons why the Thunder quickly graduated from a rebuild to NBA champion is his ascension into the league’s top names. Buried in the background last year due to injuries, think he’ll be on a mission to remind the public why he was an All-Star and All-NBA in just his third season.Let’s see if Williams can add another All-Star berth to his resume. It’ll all depend on health. We know he can be an efficient 20-point scorer on the NBA’s best team. It’s already happened once. He can drive to the rim at will. And sneakily cracked the code at getting to the free-throw line amid his basketball apocalypse. He’s also a legitimate outside shooter. All those elements combined, you should see him rack up individual accolades once again.Be All-Defense memberSpeaking of. What makes Williams special is what he does on both sides of the court. The casual fan knows about how efficient a scorer he is. But his defense goes under the radar. When the Thunder had one of the best defenses ever in the 2024-25 season, he was one of the faces as an All-Defense member. The Swiss Army knife helps OKC at all three levels and can seamlessly guard all five positions. His size and wingspan make him a weapon on that end of the floor. Doesn