While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out until the All-Star break, the problems for the OKC Thunder have not reduced. The reigning NBA champions are now under investigation, and the news dropped before they faced the Lakers. For some time, the load management from teams and the players has been an issue for the league, and it seems the buck stops with the Thunder.

“According to a league source, the NBA is investigating the Oklahoma City Thunder for player absences due to injury during their nationally televised game last week against the San Antonio Spurs,” Dan Woike reported on Monday.

The NBA is investigating the Oklahoma City Thunder for sitting 10 players out due to injury for their nationally televised matchup with the San Antonio Spurs last week, according to The Athletic’s Dan Woike. The availability of the nationally televised and in-season tournament games is important for the NBA so the fans can presumably get their money’s worth.

For the Spurs contest, Oklahoma City was without superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdomen), guard Jalen Williams (hamstring), center Chet Holmgren (back), guard Ajay Mitchell (abdomen), center Isaiah Hartenstein (cornea), guard Alex Caruso (adductor), and guard Lu Dort (knee).

However, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, and Caruso all played in the Thunder’s 128-92 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. Additionally, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Dort, and Caruso played in their 112-106 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

This means that the team claimed those four players all were too hurt to play on Wednesday, but were fine on Tuesday and Saturday. Wednesday’s game was the second night of a back-to-back, so Oklahoma City might have rested those players to avoid the risk of serious injury, which is called “load management.”

The claims of injury are now under scrutiny from the league. Rules and penalties are set: $100,000 fine for the first violation, $250,000 for the second violation, and $1 million for each subsequent violation.

This isn’t the first time that the Thunder have been under investigation for violating league injury reporting rules under head coach Mark Daigneault, as they were fined $25,000 for a similar incident in Nov. 2022.

The head coach acknowledges Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s injuries’ impact

This abdominal strain has even sidelined SGA’s participation in the All-Star game, where he was selected as a starter. OKC has played two games without its leader, who averaged 31.8 points this season. Without him, the Thunder have lost back-to-back games, and Mark Daigneault spoke about the roster changes and the impact of the injury.

“He’d rather play. We’d rather him play. This isn’t the best thing. But it’s the situation that he’s in and we’re in,” Daigneault said. “We always try to maximize all of the circumstances, even when it’s not a net positive.”

The Thunder have lost two straight, but they remain No. 1 overall with a 40–13 record. But there is also some relief for the head coach. As star guard Jalen Williams, who is not listed on the injury report for this game. He had previously missed 10 straight games, but now is back in the lineup to steady the ship without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.