Fantasy Basketball Impact: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Injury Update
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Amid another clear All-NBA level season, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilegeous-Alexander has been sidelined recently due to an injury. This came in a contest on Feb.3 against the Orlando Magic, where the 2025 NBA MVP suffered an abdominal strain. Here is the latest on Gilgeous-Alexander's injury timeline.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Injury Timeline
It was announced that Gilgeous-Alexander will be out through the All-Star break and will be reevaluated after the break is over. The severity of the strain of Gilgeous-Alexander has yet to be revealed.
Abdominal strains have three grades. Grade one strains typical return to play time ranges from 1-3 weeks. With a grade two or three strain players could miss over six weeks. The Thunder’s first game after the All-Star break is on Feb. 20 against the Brooklyn Nets. This will be a little over two weeks since Gilgeous-Alexander first suffered his injury.
Fantasy Impact Of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Injury
Gilgeous-Alexander this season is averaging 31.8 PPG (second-highest average in the NBA), 4.4 RPG, and 6.4 APG. Despite these crazy statistics that Gilgeous-Alexander generates, the Thunder should be in absolutely no rush to bring him back. They are currently the first seed in the Western Conference, with a four-game lead separating them from the second seed San Antonio Spurs. So, if the Thunder are to be patient with him, or when Gilgeous-Alexander is reevaluated, his injury appears to be on a more severe level, here is the fantasy basketball impact of him being out past the All-Star break.
Jalen Williams is the player on OKC that stands to benefit the most. This season, he is averaging 17.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 5.4 APG. These averages should all see a tick up if Gilgeous-Alexander continues to be out, especially when it comes to his scoring. Williams just returned from a hamstring injury, so he is currently on a minute restriction after his 10-game absence. And despite him playing limited minutes, he showed his scoring upside with Gilgeous-Alexander out in the Thunder’s latest game against the Los Angeles Lakers. In 24 minutes of play, Williams had 23 points.
Williams is having a down season statistically when it comes to his PPG average, as he averaged 21.6 PPG in the 2024-2025 season. Even if Gilgeous-Alexander returns directly after the All-Star break, if Williams can stay healthy for a long period of time, he should be able to get back towards this production level.
Another player who could benefit significantly statistically with Gilgeous-Alexander out is OKC center Isaiah Hartenstein. One of the big free agent signings of the 2024 offseason for the Thunder, who played a significant role in the Thunder’s run to an NBA title, has also missed his fair share of games this season. He was recently out with a calf strain, but he has been back and available of late and has been providing big production.
This season Hartenstein is averaging 10.7 PPG, 9.9 RP, and 3.5 APG. With the recent stretch of Gilgeous-Alexander being out, his production when it comes to scoring and rebounding has remained fairly the same, but his assists have catapulted up. In his last three games, he has logged a combined 27 assists. If Gilgeous-Alexander remains out after the All-Star break, these big assists games from Hartenstein should continue
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Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops