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

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has missed eight games in a row heading into a back-to-back on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons.

The Thunder have won three in a row with SGA out, knocking off the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. While the Thunder have yet to release an injury report for Wednesday's game since it is a back-to-back, the reigning league MVP is not expected to play in this matchup.

Last Thursday, the Thunder announced that Gilgeous-Alexander would miss at least one more week with an abdominal strain, meaning his earliest chance to return would be on Friday against the Denver Nuggets.

Gilgeous-Alexander is still the favorite to win the league's MVP award, but his starting to miss a concerning number of games when it comes to hitting the 65-game threshold for postseason awards. Wednesday's matchup will be the 11th game that Gilgeous-Alexander has missed this season.

OKC is 7-3 in the first 10 matchups that he's missed, with players like Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace stepping up in a big way.

As a result, the Thunder have the best record in the Western Conference, but they're a better team when SGA is on the floor. The star guard 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.

On Wednesday, the Thunder find themselves as 7.5-point underdogs at DraftKings on the road against the No. 1-seeded Pistons. Detroit is looking to bounce back from a loss to San Antonio on Monday, and it'll be facing a shell of the Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back.

SGA's abdominal strain has kept him out since before the All-Star break, but it's possible he returns on Friday against Denver. If not, his next chance to play would be on Sunday, March 1 against the Dallas Mavericks.

Gilgeous-Alexander can miss 17 games in the 2025-26 season and still be eligible for postseason awards, so he has a few games to play with as he tries to get healthy for the home stretch of the regular season.

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