Stephen A. Smith gave up on OKC’s fair play due to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s injury
After starting the season in historic fashion, the defending NBA champions The Oklahoma City Thunder have been hit by an injury bug. After starting the year without All-Star forward Jaylen Williams, the MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander he hasn’t been in the last few games.
Although the team was able to “hold serve” in the Western Conference playoff race – retaining first place in the conference – Stephen A. Smith believes the team is in trouble if SGA doesn’t bounce back soon. On the latest edition of ESPN’s First Take, a panel discussed the resurgence of the San Antonio Spurs under Victor Wembanyama after a 114-103 win over the Pistons. While praising the Spurs, Smith cast doubt on Thunder without Alexander.
“Without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, I don’t have Oklahoma City (Thunder) as a top 8 team,” Smith said defiantly.
Currently, the Thunder are 6-3 without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season, including wins over playoff contenders in the Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers. But before the All-Star break, they suffered back-to-back losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Aleksandar had another season worthy of MVP. He is averaging 31.8 points per game and 6.4 assists per game on 55% from the field and 39% from three. He has emerged as a steady hand in the Thunder’s offense when he needs the basket. With Alexander out of the rotation, the Thunder have had to rely on their trademark dominant defense, team basketball and three-point shooting to maintain an advantage over their recent opponents.
The Thunder are in an interesting stretch of games as they face the playoff-contending Toronto Raptors on the first night of a back-to-back before playing a nationally televised game against the Eastern Conference top-seeded Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
2026-02-24 17:07:00
