A day after being honored as Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in Las Vegas, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been added to the Thunder’s injury report for Wednesday night. He’s officially listed as questionable with right knee bursitis. I’m not suggesting the two are connected. I’m simply presenting a timeline of events. I swear.
In all seriousness, Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t been the type to miss to games in recent years. The reigning NBA MVP has played in at least 75 regular season contests in back-to-back campaigns, while he’s only been in street clothes for a single game so far in 2025-26. Ironically enough, that tilt was also against the Jazz back on December 7. Even without their All-Star, Oklahoma City took down Utah 131-101 that evening. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams both led the team with 25 points, despite neither logging more than 26 minutes of action.
If SGA were to be ruled out on Wednesday, it’s Williams who would benefit the most in a DFS and betting capacity. Williams has seen his usage rate skyrocket to 31.1% without Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor this season, and the former 12th-overall pick is producing a robust 25.2 points per 75 possessions as the Thunder’s No. 1 scoring option. Williams’ ceiling would be massive in a matchup with a Jazz squad that owns the league’s worst defensive rating (122.0).
On the DraftKings Sportsbook, the Thunder are 17.5-point favorites at home.
