Shai Gilgeous-Alexander set to return vs Suns, Thursday

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

The coffee tastes a little sweeter this Thursday Morning as the Oklahoma City Thunder fanbase gets ramped up to watch their star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander return to the hardwood for the first time since January 28th, 2022 tonight against the top of the Western Conference Phoenix Suns in their first game back following the NBA All-Star Break.

After a hopeful Instagram post earlier in the weekend where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted a series of photos of him warming up on the floor against the New York Knicks with the caption “soon” and the Oklahoma City Thunder bench boss Mark Daigneault saying SGA was “on track” before the week-long break, Fans were eager to see when their franchise player would return to the floor after losing half a season last year with a foot injury.

Wednesday after the team’s first practice following the NBA All-Star Break the Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault confirmed that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would return on Thursday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returning from Ankle Injury for Oklahoma City Thunder against the Suns on Thursday in the first game since the NBA All-Star Break

The Oklahoma City Thunder are thankful to get Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back from injury, joining their star rookie Josh Giddey who has compiled four Triple-Doubles, and three straight triple-doubles so far in his rookie year carrying the load without SGA. This hot streak from Giddey has left OKC Thunder fans a bit worried about the pairing of their seemingly two top-tier players. Now, the team has half a season left to begin the process of figuring out how to play with the two lead guards.

This will be a tough test out of the shoot taking on the 48-10 Phoenix Suns, who are 22-5 on the road, and on a seven-game winning streak including 9-1 in their last ten games. Though, at the All-Star Break, the Suns got some devastating news with Chris Paul being out with a thumb injury for the next 6-t0-8 weeks.

How excited are you to see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back on the floor, and what would be considered a success down the stretch with SGA and Josh Giddey sharing the floor?