Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report: When Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Coming Back?

The good news for Thunder fans is that Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t on the team’s latest injury report, which means he should be available against the Kings.

Gordon Hayward is the only player on the Thunder dealing with an ailment, as he has been ruled out with a left posterior tibialis strain. The other players who are out for OKC are two-way players  on G League assignment, including Ousmane Dieng, Adam Flager, Keyontae Johnson and Olivier Sarr.

Sure enough, Gilgeous-Alexander’s return is a massive boost for the Thunder, especially since they have lost three of the four games that their superstar missed. Their only win in that span came against a hapless Charlotte Hornets squad.

Sure enough, against a hungry Kings squad that is fighting for the playoffs, they really need the Canada international in order to win.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and a league-leading 2.1 steals per game. That kind of production is hard to replace, as the Thunder have learned in recent weeks.

For what it’s worth, however, it’s unknown if Gilgeous-Alexander will be limited in any way. Considering that he’s coming from an injury, it’s safe to assume that he could be in limited minutes.

What Are the Oklahoma City Thunder Playing for Now?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have also already qualified for the NBA playoffs, so there isn’t much pressure on them to win games. With that said, if they see that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is struggling or there could be a risk of an injury, they could easily pull him out.

OKC is currently the third seed in the West, only one game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets for the top seed. At  53-25 so far, the worst they could finish is the fourth seed, so they are all but assured of homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

As things currently stand, though, there’s a big chance that they finish within the Top 3. Finishing as the top seed is their only remaining goal now since it will give them homecourt advantage throughout the West playoffs.

Nonetheless, there’s no doubt that the Thunder will prioritize resting their superstar and other key players over winning games at this point. That’s definitely a good position to be in, especially for a young team that is lacking in postseason experience.