Feb. 6, 2026, 7:00 p.m. CT
Moments after the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Jared McCain in one of the headliners of a busy NBA trade deadline, they dumped an injury update that rocks their world for the time being — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be out through at least the All-Star break with an abdominal strain.
That means Gilgeous-Alexander is set to miss at least five games. The Thunder are already off to a 0-1 start with a 116-106 loss to the San Antonio Spurs that you honestly can’t get too mad about, considering the personnel that suited up.
It’ll be uncharted territory for the Thunder. One of the things that has made Gilgeous-Alexander into an NBA superstar over the last handful of years is his superhero-esque durability. The reigning MVP has suited up more times than not. This will be the first stretch of games where he’ll be out since OKC became a contender.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talked about the Thunder surviving that. Chet Holmgren and friends will be asked to carry the burden. While there is no one-for-one replacement, it could be a group effort where OKC is morphed into a different team for now that tries to break even these next two weeks.
“He’s conditioned himself to be able to take that load. That’s what the great players do. They build up a certain base — physically, emotionally, mentally. A very large load in terms of role, minutes, usage,” Daigneault said. “He carries that as well as anybody and doesn’t break a sweat doing it.”
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Some have tried to spin-zone this into a positive. That it gives Gilgeous-Alexander some much-needed rest. That it’s an economical time to sit out as the Thunder only play five games over the next three weeks, but Daigneault said they don’t really view it that way.
“He’d rather play. We’d rather him play. This isn’t the best thing. But it’s the situation that he’s in and we’re in,” Daigneault said. “We always try to maximize all of the circumstances, even when it’s not a net positive.”
We’ll see how the next couple of weeks play out for the Thunder. At least we’ll get a firm answer on the timeless hypothetical on whether OKC is a win machine despite Gilgeous-Alexander, as some wonky advanced metrics might suggest.