Though obviously wildly successful, what with their consecutive top-seeded finishes and NBA Championship win, the last two seasons for the OKC Thunder have been marred by widespread health woes.
The injury bug has had a feast upon Oklahoma City's roster over this span, with chomps coming down on stars like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren just as frequently as role players like Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso.
After falling to the San Antonio Spurs in this past campaign's Western Conference Finals largely due to key player injuries, one could make the case that the top objective for this Thunder squad heading into 2026-27 should be to stay as healthy as humanly possible.
Based on recent reports, it seems superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already trying to do his part to help the club on this front, as Marc Stein of The Stein Line recently revealed that he will not be suiting up for Team Canada in its next window of qualifying games for the FIBA World Cup.
This may come as a bit of a surprise to some, especially since he was active with the national team earlier in the offseason and had reportedly been working on unlocking a new side of his game in the process.
Of course, after long playoff runs in two straight years, and with training camp right around the corner, it seems the two-time MVP is opting to take some time for himself to get his body fully right for the upcoming season.
Selfishly, this should be seen as great news for Thunder fans.
Beloved former Thunder guard set to suit up for Team Canada
Though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may not be set to play these next few games of the FIBA World Cup qualifier, that doesn't mean Thunder fans won't be interested in tuning in to watch Team Canada take to the hardwood.
After all, the club will still have beloved former guard Lu Dort in the fold.
This will give fans their first chance to watch the veteran play meaningful ball since he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks back in July.
Game one of this phase of the qualifying round will take place on Thursday, August 27, against Panama, followed by a Monday, August 31, bout against Argentina. Both slates will be held out in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
With a comfortable first-place lead in Group B, the SGA-less Team Canada seems primed to punch their ticket to the actual FIBA World Cup tournament set for next summer.
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