The Oklahoma City Thunder have the NBA's best record at 40-13, but the San Antonio Spurs have gotten the best of them this season. The Spurs beat them 116-106 at home on ESPN this past Wednesday, marking the fourth time they've won in five matchups against them this year.
However, the Thunder are under investigation after sitting almost all of their main rotation players, per The Athletic's Dan Woike.
"According to a league source, the NBA is investigating the Oklahoma City Thunder for player absences due to injury during their nationally televised game last week against the San Antonio Spurs," he reported on Monday.
Thunder-Spurs Exemplifies 'Load Management' Controversy
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Oklahoma City was without superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdomen), guard Jalen Williams (hamstring), center Chet Holmgren (back), guard Ajay Mitchell (abdomen), center Isaiah Hartenstein (cornea), guard Alex Caruso (adductor), and guard Lu Dort (knee) against San Antonio, which had most of its core players available. However, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, and Caruso all played in the Thunder's 128-92 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.
Additionally, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Dort, and Caruso played in their 112-106 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday. This means that the team claimed those four players were all too hurt to play on Wednesday, but were fine on Tuesday and Saturday.
Wednesday's game was the second night of a back-to-back, so Oklahoma City might have rested those players to avoid the risk of serious injury, which is called "load management." The team still has 29 regular-season games left before the playoffs, which could be as many as 28 contests from the first round to the Finals.
With Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and Mitchell all missing extended time, the Thunder can't afford more players going down. Gilgeous-Alexander is out through the All-Star break (per ESPN), while Williams and Mitchell haven't played since Jan. 17 and Jan. 21, respectively.
On the bright side, Williams will return for Monday night's matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, per ESPN. The 24-year-old is averaging 16.8 points on 47 percent shooting (30 percent 3-point) with 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists over 29.6 minutes (24 games).
Oklahoma City isn't the only team to have sat several key players at once recently. The Washington Wizards sat big man Alex Sarr (ankle), forward Kyshawn George (knee), guard Bilal Coulibaly (back), and guard Tre Johhnson (ankle) in their 127-113 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday before playing George, Sarr, and Coulibaly in their 132-101 defeat to the Miami Heat on Sunday. The Utah Jazz also sat big men Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of their 120-117 loss to the Magic on Saturday after entering the period with a 94-87 lead.
The difference is that the Wizards and Jazz are tanking as they chase top picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, while the Thunder are aiming for their second straight championship. Regardless, players continuously missing games is increasingly becoming an issue in the NBA.