SGA OUT PAST ALL-STAR BREAK WITH ABDOMINAL STRAIN

## The Moment Everything Changed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander suffered his abdominal injury during Oklahoma City's 128-92 win against the Magic on Feb. 3. Despite the injury, SGA still managed 20 points and nine assists, extending his streak of consecutive 20-point games to 121 games. He played 28 minutes in the contest, scoring his final point with just over two minutes remaining in the game. That last free throw with 2:14 left matters more than anyone knew at the time. Gilgeous-Alexander is within five of tying Wilt Chamberlain's record of 126 straight games with at least 20 points. Now that chase is on hold indefinitely. Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss at least the next five games for OKC with an abdominal strain suffered in the Thunder's blowout win over the Magic on Tuesday night. The Thunder announced Gilgeous-Alexander will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break, which means SGA will not compete for the World squad after being selected as a starter. ## Perfect Storm of Bad Timing The defending champions couldn't have picked a worse stretch to lose their MVP. As for the Thunder, their next four games are all against West playoff teams, with the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns on the schedule before finishing with a game against the Milwaukee Bucks before the break. It's a huge loss for the defending NBA champion Thunder, who have a league-best 40-12 record. He is the league's No. 2 scorer at 31.8 points per game, and he is having perhaps his best all-around season. The injury pile keeps growing too. His injury is the latest in a string of health setbacks for the Thunder. In the win over Orlando, Oklahoma City played without Jalen Williams, who sat out his eighth straight game because of a hamstring injury, and Ajay Mitchell, who sat out his sixth game in a row because of an abdominal strain. The Thunder are 2-0 this season without Gilgeous-Alexander, beating the Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz, but this upcoming stretch will further test their depth without the services of their MVP guard. Beating the Grizzlies and Jazz is one thing. Surviving Spurs, Rockets, Lakers and Suns is another. ## The McCain Lifeline Here's where timing gets interesting. The Philadelphia 76ers traded guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 Rockets first-round pick and three second-round picks, the teams announced Wednesday. Same day as the SGA injury news. McCain, the 16th overall pick in the 2024 draft, joins the reigning NBA champions after averaging 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists on 38.5% shooting in 16.8 minutes per game for the Sixers this season. Those numbers look rough, but context matters. In that six-game span, McCain averaged 25.2 points, 4 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 44.1% from deep. In the process, he turned in 27-, 29- and 34-point performances. That was when he had the ball in his hands as a rookie before the knee injury. Given that Gilgeous-Alexander will be out until after the All-Star break with an abdominal strain, McCain will immediately get to play much more of an on-ball role in OKC. Sometimes the best trades happen by accident. ## The Championship Window Reality Gilgeous-Alexander is the heavy favorite to win back-to-back MVP awards, and if his absence is limited to the current timetable for his re-evaluation, he shouldn't have any issues with awards eligibility. That's the optimistic view. The realistic view: OKC's first game after the All-Star break is Feb. 20 against the Brooklyn Nets. Two weeks minimum for an abdominal strain when you're chasing a repeat championship. The Thunder built depth for exactly this scenario, but depth doesn't replace a 32-point scorer who shoots 55% from the field. SGA's chase of Wilt's record can wait. The Thunder's chase of Banner No. 2 cannot.