NBA investigates OKC Thunder player absences due to injury in Spurs game

OKLAHOMA CITY –

The last of five regular-season matchups between the Thunder and Spurs took place last week in San Antonio. Anticipation for the game dropped earlier that day when the Thunder announced MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be sidelined until after the All-Star break with an abdominal injury. The absence of SGA flipped the odds for the game and then it was announced that multiple other key contributors for OKC had been ruled out after playing the night before against the Orlando Magic.

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February 9, 2026 02:38 PM

2 min read

Thunder players ruled out vs. Spurs:

Alex Caruso — Right adductor; injury managementOusmane Dieng — Not with team (traded)Luguentz Dort — Right patellofemoral joint; inflammationShai Gilgeous-Alexander — Abdominal strainIsaiah Hartenstein — Right eye; corneal abrasionChet Holmgren — Low back spasmsAjay Mitchell — Abdominal strainJalen Williams — Right hamstring strain

That meant just eight roster players were available for the nationally-televised game on ESPN that night. Now, the league has announced an investigation into the OKC Thunder for those player absences.

That’s according to Dan Woike, a Los Angeles Lakers reporter for The Athletic.

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 (@DanWoikeSports) February 9, 2026

The investigation is unlikely to result in discipline, based on the nature of the reported injuries and the length of time several players have already missed.

SGA will be out until at least after the All-Star game, not a simple one-off to avoid the Spurs. Jalen Williams is making his return for the first time since Jan. 17, a hamstring injury that sidelined him for 10 games.

Coming off a back-to-back the night before also left some contributors injured, including the eye injury to Hartenstein, the abdominal strain to Mitchell which has kept him out multiple games, not just against the Spurs, and Holmgren from back spasms.

So in short, this is not a Greg Popovich-era level of rest management that led the league to this point in the first place. This was the first-place team in the West dealing with an injury bug that has plagued it all season.

Meanwhile, the NBA is dealing with never-before-seen tanking with over 30 games left on the schedule. The Utah Jazz, who traded for former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies, have started both players before benching them simply to tank and lose the game, which happened just last weekend against the Magic.

Last year, the league investigated OKC for the same reason after all five of the Thunder’s starters sat against the Portland Trail Blazers in a March match up at the Paycom Center. Even without the starters, OKC won 107-89 behind Aaron Wiggins’ 30 points and Jaylin Williams’ first career triple-double. A fine was not assessed to the team.

What triggers an NBA load management investigation?

The new mandate took effect before the 2023-2024 season, according to the NBA. Here’s the new policy:

Rest no more than one star player from a game. (For purposes of the restrictions, a “star player” is defined as someone who has been an All-Star or an All-NBA selection in any of the past three seasons. It also will impact for the balance of the schedule players named to that season’s All-Star teams.)Make star players available for nationally televised games and In-Season Tournament games.Balance the number of one-game “rest” absences a star player accrues in home games vs. road games, with a recommendation that a player more often sit out at home.Refrain from any long-term “shutdown” when a star stops participating in games or appears only in a materially reduced role that could affect the integrity of the game.Have any healthy players resting for a game present and visible to fans.

The NBA says the league office has the authority to conduct investigations and order independent medical reviews in the event of any questionable absences. A team’s first violation is a $100,000 fine, the second is $250,000 and the subsequent fines would rise by $1 million per violation.

We’ll see if the league’s investigation results in a fine for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Stay tuned.