Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault announced the Thunder will begin their preseason schedule without superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort. After Jaylin Williams strained his right hamstring, ruling him out for the remaining exhibition games, Daigneault announced Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort are sitting out against the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City's first preseason game, per Oklahoman Sports' Joel Lorenzi.

“Daigneault says SGA and Lu Dort will rest tomorrow in OKC’s preseason opener,” Lorenzi reported.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort join Thunder power forward Kenrich Williams, who's scheduled to return from a procedure on his right knee after the preseason. Williams suffered his injury during the third day of Thunder training camp. He will be re-evaluated before the start of the regular season.

As for the Spurs' injury report, the league's Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, veteran point guard Chris Paul, and center Zach Collins will be resting in the preseason opener. They joined Devin Vassell (foot surgery), Charles Bassey (knee surgery), and David Duke Jr. (undisclosed) on San Antonio's injury report.

For the first time in 2024-25, Daigneault will coach Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein on Monday. The veterans will make their highly anticipated debuts against the Spurs in San Antonio.

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Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Lu Dort, the team's longest-tenured players alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is excited to have veteran guard Alex Caruso join his team. Dort sees the advantages of having a two-time All-Defensive NBA champion on his side, including how playing alongside Caruso can make him and the Thunder better this upcoming season.

“It brings a lot. It’s gonna bring a lot of good and positive. He has a lot of experience. He’s archived a lot in his career, especially defensively,” Dort said. “For myself, the way I see it is to learn. He’s had a great approach, and he’s been really vocal in leading, which is nice. And me, I’m still learning. I still wanna learn a lot, especially defensively. So, I feel like I can learn a lot from him.”

Dort isn't the only Thunder guard who has felt the positive impact of Caruso's approach from the outset. Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins labeled Caruso, alongside Dort and Cason Wallace, an elite defensive combination he'd trust against any team in the NBA.

“Talk about point-of-attack defenders; those guys are the elite of the elite. Cason Wallace, I’d throw him in there, too,” Wiggins said. “You match them up with anybody with the ball in their hands and almost count on them to get any stop.”

Heading into 2024-25, Thunder fans have plenty to be excited about.