MVP Gilgeous-Alexander out with abdominal strain

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be out of action until after the All-Star break due to an abdominal strain, the team announced Wednesday. The reigning MVP suffered the injury during Oklahoma City's 128-92 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. The Canadian guard will sit out the All-Star games Feb. 15. Commissioner Adam Silver will choose his replacement for the World team in the round-robin competition. Gilgeous-Alexander missed Wednesday's 116-106 loss at San Antonio. The Thunder have four more games before All-Star Weekend, including a home game against Houston on Saturday and a visit to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. The team said it will re-evaluate him after the break. It's a huge loss for the defending NBA champion Thunder, who have a league-best 40-12 record. Gilgeous-Alexander is the league's No. 2 scorer with 31.8 points per game, and he is having perhaps his best all-around season. He ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage at 55.4% (14th) and in assists, with 6.4 per contest (15th). "He's certainly a high-usage, high-impact player for us," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said before the game at San Antonio. "So we've got to do it as a group and collectively, which is what we do when he's on the bench and he's not on the court." Gilgeous-Alexander is on a streak of 121 consecutive games with at least 20 points scored — the second longest in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain's run of 126 straight. He scored 20 points on Tuesday night. His injury is the latest in a string of health setbacks for the Thunder. In the win over Orlando, Oklahoma City played without Jalen Williams, who missed his eighth straight game with a hamstring injury, and Ajay Mitchell, who sat out his sixth game in a row with an abdominal strain. Williams was an All-Star in 2025 and Mitchell has been one of the league's most improved players in his second year. The Thunder sat much of their team on Wednesday. Williams and Mitchell remained out. All-Star Chet Holmgren (lower back spasms), starting guard Lu Dort (knee inflammation), starting center Isaiah Hartenstein (eye abrasion) and reserve Alex Caruso (right adductor) were sidelined. It was a busy Wednesday for the Thunder. They acquired guard Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers for draft picks and traded away reserve forward Ousmane Dieng, who ended up with Charlotte. As usual, Daigneault saw potential in the situation. He has built a reputation for developing young players, and those that remain will get more opportunities in the coming weeks. "We've played a lot of games like this over the last couple of years, and we've gotten something out of them, usually," he said.