The Oklahoma City Thunder could once again be without franchise star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a while. The team announced today that the star guard sustained a concussion and will be sidelined for an unspecified period of time.
The team's press release reads:
The Oklahoma City Thunder announced today that guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sustained a concussion following two common fouls late in the fourth quarter (1:29 and 1:13 marks) of yesterday’s game against the Houston Rockets and he has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol.
Per the NBA’s Concussion Policy, Gilgeous-Alexander will now begin the NBA-mandated Return-to-Participation Protocol. This process includes a series of steps designed to ensure an athlete exhibits symptom-free behavior before resuming basketball activities. There is no predetermined timetable to complete the protocol, as each injury and player is different and recovery time can vary in each case.
The Thunder missed Gilgeous-Alexander for the second half of last season due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot and performed atrociously. They were 19-24 when he played his last game and they went 3-26 the rest of the way.
This year's OKC team isn't built to lose Gilgeous-Alexander for a significant chunk of time, either. SGA is averaging a team-leading 21.2 points per game to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Oklahoma City is 6-15 on the season.
It's unclear how long Gilgeous-Alexander will be sidelined. For as long as he is, standout rookie Josh Giddey, who was named the Western Conference's Rookie of the Month, will likely take a bigger command on the offense.
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