In a postgame presser following the Oklahoma City Thunder’s victory against the Utah Jazz, star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander revealed he is dealing with a quad injury, “yeah, little banged up in my quad. Happened in the Utah game.” Furthermore, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said the team is “monitoring” Gilgeous-Alexander’s injury:
He’s banged up, for sure. He’s not 100%. We’re monitoring it, but he’s certainly not a hundred percent. I’ll let him speak on it.
With a 50-21 record, the Thunder currently own the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Furthermore, they are just 0.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the Western Conference’s best record with 11 games remaining.
NBA MVP Candidate Reportedly Dealing With Nagging Injury
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP Candidacy
The 25-year-old combo guard is enjoying the best season of his young career in the NBA. In addition to his team’s impressive success this season, Gilgeous-Alexander’s individual performance has made him a top NBA MVP candidate. Currently, Gilgeous-Alexander (+225) only trails the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (-150) as the betting favorite to bring home the MVP award this year. This season, Gilgeous-Alexander made it to his second consecutive All-Star team, and his first as a starter. In 70 games played so far, the Canadian native is averaging 30.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and a league-leading 2.1 steals per game. Furthermore, he is shooting an impressive 54% from the field, including 36.7% from beyond the arc.
Recently, Gilgeous-Alexander spoke about being in the MVP race, saying it is an award he would “definitely want“:
“It’s a surreal feeling,” the Oklahoma City Thunder guard told Bleacher Report when discussing being in the MVP race. “You dream about it as a kid. I certainly have, wanting to be in the NBA my whole life. It’s something that I try not to put too much thought or emphasis on and let the chips fall where they may, but it’s something that I definitely want. If I achieve it and am blessed enough to get the award, I’ll be very happy.”
Furthermore, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recently endorsed the Thunder guard as his MVP for this season:
“The MVP is SGA,” said Shaq on TNT. “He meets my criteria and everybody else’s criteria. He’s the baddest player in the game and their team is 49-21.”
The Last Word on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Although it is not official yet, the Thunder should clinch a postseason spot soon. Because of this, the team may be cautious with Gilgeous-Alexander’s quad injury and rest him or shorten his minutes before the end of the season. However, if they are hoping to clinch homecourt advantage in the Western Conference for the playoffs, keeping the team at full force is another option. Regardless, the Thunder are in a good spot to bring a title to Oklahoma City this season. Gilgeous-Alexander has not missed a game following his quad injury and is still putting up MVP numbers. Clearly, the injury is not severe enough to force him to miss time.
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