Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Suffers Strain, Will be Re-Evaluated After All-Star Break

Amid a deadline move for the Oklahoma City Thunder, they received some not-so-great news on the injury front.

Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the current front-runner to take home the NBA’s MVP award for a second-straight year, has sustained an abdominal strain, and will be re-evaluated following the All-Star break.

The Thunder faced off against the Magic in a not-so-close contest Tuesday evening, with SGA seemingly suffering the strain and showing some mild discomfort near the end of his minutes. He would eventually finish with 20 points — keeping his streak alive — but would exit the game shortly after given Oklahoma City’s near-30-point lead.

Now, OKC is set to play the next handful of games without him. They’ll face off against San Antonio tonight, followed by Houston on Feb. 7, the LA Lakers on Feb. 9, Phoenix on Feb. 11 and Milwaukee on Feb. 12.

From there, the team will see an eight-day break for All-Star festivities.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s is the next in a long line of injuries that have hampered the OKC Thunder so far this season. Players such as Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell and plenty more have missed extended time. He was set to play for Team World in the All-Star game, and now leves a reserve spot open with his window past All-Star weekend.

Averaging nearly 32 points on 55% shooting, he's the focal point of OKC's offensive attack.

Luckily, the Thunder have avoided major injury, with all of their listed players still set to return in the 2025-26 regular season.

Just before the announcement of SGA's injury was the news that Oklahoma City is trading for second-year guard Jared McCain from the 76ers. McCain, a known sharpshooter, saw a blistering start to his NBA career, averaging 15.3 points for the Sixers, before going down with injury. So far this season he's been unable to find that same rhythm, averaging 6.6 points on 38% shooting.

Still, he offers plenty of fire-power on the perimeter.

The Thunder now look to a bout against the Spurs, where reserves will need to bring their A-game against a relatively healthy San Antonio squad, led by Victor Wembanyama.

The Thunder currently have a six-game lead over the next-best Nuggets in the Western Conference, which gives them some breathing room in terms of nabbing the West's No. 1 seed. Sunday's win over Denver, where SGA added 34 points, is shaping up to have been a crucial one.