Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enters concussion protocol program

The OKC Thunder lost for a second time in three days to the Houston Rockets but more concerning is they also lost their superstar.  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted a season-best 39 points and his final shot rimmed out that would’ve won the game.

What we’re learning today is SGA suffered a concussion at the end of the game. The team couldn’t differentiate if the concussion occurred at 1:29  or 1:13 of the fourth quarter. Daniel Theis and Garrison Matthews committed the fouls on SGA.

OKC Thunder star Gilgeous-Alexander enters NBA concussion protocol program

Regardless he’ll enter the concussion protocol program. That means he’ll need to advance through the program which requires players to pass a variety of tests before they can return to gameplay.

Unfortunately, that also means he won’t be available tonight to face the Memphis Grizzlies. The OKC Thunder are playing the second game of a back-to-back this evening and will be severely shorthanded.

Josh Giddey and Derrick Favors are both out with the flu. Kenrich Williams is dealing with an ankle sprain. In addition,  Vit Krejci, Theo Maledon, and Aaron Wiggins are all assigned to the G-League affiliate OKC Blue so unavailable for this match.

If we didn’t know any better it would almost seem like the OKC Thunder are purposely putting up the white flag for this match against the Grizzlies. Seriously, injuries are never ideal and we’re hoping Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, Favors, and Williams are all feeling better soon. The Thunder doesn’t have another game after tonight until Monday when they’ll be in Detroit to face Cade Cunningham and the Pistons.

Memphis is without their own superstar, Ja Morant who suffered a sprained knee and is expected to miss a minimum of two weeks. As we noted in our game day preview the Grizzlies have refocused their efforts on the defensive end and won their last two matches against the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors holding them to 101 and 91 points respectively.

A loss would extend the Thunder losing streak to eight in a row.