In an article that featured one training camp question for all 30 NBA teams, The Athletic staff focused the Oklahoma City Thunder’s entry on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s durability.
“How many games will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play? The Thunder are entering Year 3 of their rebuild, and Gilgeous-Alexander is clearly their best player. In the first two years, Gilgeous-Alexander has only played a total of 91 games (35 in 2020-21 and 56 games in 2021-22). With the news that Gilgeous-Alexander has a Grade 2 left MCL sprain and will miss the start of training camp, he is behind the 8-ball again with his health. It’s likely he won’t miss more than a handful of games to start the season with this injury, but how many will he miss? The Thunder are still in rebuild mode, and the most valuable picks they have are their own. But can they continue to sit Gilgeous-Alexander at the end of the season? Will he push to play even if there are no games of consequence in March and April? — Andrew Schlecht”
Gilgeous-Alexander has played in just 59% of his games the last two seasons and has missed time due to several different leg injuries that range from plantar fasciitis to ankle sprains to an MCL sprain. Gilgeous-Alexander is dealing with an MCL sprain that will keep him out at least two weeks and puts his status for the season opener in question.
