Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to return Thursday vs. Suns

By Adam Stites | Last updated Feb 23, 2022 4:12 PM ET

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will play Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns after missing nearly a month due to an ankle injury, coach Mark Daigneault said Wednesday.

Gilgeous-Alexander, 23, suffered an ankle sprain during a Jan. 28 loss to the Indiana Pacers. While the Thunder won three straight games immediately after losing Gilgeous-Alexander, the team has since won just one of its last seven games.

The fourth-year point guard — who was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in a 2019 trade involving Paul George — is Oklahoma City's leading scorer this season with 22.7 points per game to go with 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds. Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey are the only other players on the team averaging more than 10 points per game.

Mark Daigneault on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey’s pairing “If you want to be a good team you have to have top end talent. And Shai wants to win. He wants to roll his sleeves up and help build it.”
— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) February 23, 2022

The Thunder are second-to-last in the Western Conference with an 18-40 record. Only the Houston Rockets are behind Oklahoma City in the standings.

Adam Stites

Adam Stites is a Southern California native who lives in a new state every three months. He’s perennially disappointed by both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona State Sun Devils. His dog is named Ramsey after the best cornerback in the NFL

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