Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Nuggets vs. OKC)

The Oklahoma City Thunder will receive a huge boost on Friday night in their marquee matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

Reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is off the injury report and set to return from an abdominal strain that caused him to miss the team's last nine games. OKC went 5-4 during that stretch.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been cleared to return after missing the last nine games due to an abdominal strain. He is not on OKC’s injury report for tomorrow’s game vs. Nuggets.
— Tim MacMahon (@BannedMacMahon) February 26, 2026

SGA's return sets up a great matchup against MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, and the two stars are once again No. 1 and No. 2 in the odds to win the award this season. The Thunder, who are 24-6 at home this season, find themselves as sizable favorites after they beat Denver earlier this month by 10 points (in Denver).

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points (on just 16 shots) and had 13 assists in the win over Denver earlier this season. So, there's no doubt that his presence improves OKC's chances of winning on Friday night.

This season, The Thunder star is averaging 31.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 55.4 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from 3. It's unclear if he'll be on a minutes restriction in his return to the lineup.

The Thunder are still without All-Star forward Jalen Williams (hamstring) in this matchup, but they remain in the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference even through him and SGA being out of the lineup.

When SGA plays, the Thunder are hands down the best team in the NBA, going 38-11 in 49 games. SGA needs to play 16 more games to reach the 65-game threshold to be eligible for awards and All-NBA. The Thunder have 22 games left in the 2025-26 regular season.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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