Oklahoma City Thunder fans, brace yourselves. This season just got a wee bit worse, if that's even possible.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right foot plantar fasciitis) will be reevaluated in mid-April, per Mark Daigneault.
— Joe Mussatto (@joe_mussatto) March 31, 2021
In what has been a relatively dark year for the young Oklahoma City Thunder, the normally sturdy (76 games played per year) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a bright spot for the team this year. After an improbable playoff run in the Orlando bubble last season, the Thunder have plummeted to the bottom of the Western Conference, but hope remains bright. At that lies SGA and his blossoming stardom, as the young combo guard has stepped up to the plate beautifully for Oklahoma City in the wake of Chris Paul's departure to the Phoenix Suns.
SGA has increased his scoring average from 19 to almost 24 PPG, while not just maintaining, but improving his shooting efficiency (50.8% FG, 41.8% 3FG). His passing has gotten better as well, with him averaging almost six assists per game on the season with a nearly 2:1 AST/TO ratio.
Losing Gilgeous-Alexander is undoubtedly a blow to Oklahoma City (19-27), but could be a blessing in disguise, as the team owns its first-round pick this year and could be due for a bloated chance to land the number one pick in this year's draft. Furthermore, the team owns a boatload of picks over the next few years, so they really are building for the future.
With a slight patch of luck, this injury is a passing bug for an otherwise very healthy player with very little prior injury history, if any. The Thunder are well-removed from the Western Conference's playoff picture, and they know that, so the best thing that they can do is to shut SGA down for the rest of the season and let him come back next year ready to tear into the league with his loaded skillset. More updates to come as this story develops.
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