Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Playing Tonight? (Latest Injury Updates and News for Thunder vs Jazz on March 3)

The Oklahoma City Thunder are back in action on Friday night as they face the Utah Jazz at 8 p.m. ET. One player's status to keep an eye on ahead of tip-off is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has missed each of OKC's last four games.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Injury Update (3/3/2023)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss a fifth straight game for the Thunder tonight as he has been ruled out with an abdominal strain as well as right ankle soreness. He has also been placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols, so expect more updates to come on that front in the next few days.

SGA's injuries come as a particularly bad time for OKC, as it is only 2.5 games back of the final spot in the play-in tournament. The Thunder have always played it safe when it comes to their star's health, though, giving him rest days when needed and shutting him down for periods of time in the past.

The Thunder have lost all four games since Gilgeous-Alexander went down, which goes to show the massive role he plays as a leader. The Kentucky product is averaging a reliable 31.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game (54 games) on a shooting percentage of 50.7% this season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Fantasy Outlook and Prop Bets Today

Gilgeous-Alexander is not listed in terms of Oklahoma City's player props available on FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA odds. That's to be expected of a player that has officially been ruled out. The Thunder do enter Friday's matchup against the Jazz as a 1-point favorite, but they have lost eight straight games in the head-to-head series. Backing Utah on the road seems like the way to go here.

The 24-year-old is listed as one of the top options on FanDuel's DFS slate tonight, checking in with the most expensive price tag among SGs ($10,500). In fact, that is the fifth-highest price tag of any player overall. Managers looking to fill the void left by Gilgeous-Alexander can shift gears to OKC's Josh Giddey ($8,000), who racked up 22 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds in Wednesday's defeat.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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