Fact check: Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out for Game 5 with an oblique injury?
The Times Of India May 27, 2026 04:39 AM
The claim making rounds on social media that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals with an oblique injury is false. SGA is healthy, listed on no injury report, and is expected to start tonight as OKC hosts the San Antonio Spurs in a series tied 2-2. The rumour appears to have mixed up SGA with his injured teammates or drawn from an old February story about a separate abdominal strain he suffered during the regular season.
SGA's oblique injury claim is false - here's what really happened
Both SGA and Victor Wembanyama have kept themselves off the injury list heading into Game 5, with both stars expected to be available tonight. The confusion likely traces back to February, when SGA suffered an abdominal strain and was ruled out for five games, also missing the All-Star Game, a story that resurfaced out of context. That injury has long since healed.
The real OKC injury story is a different one entirely. The two most consequential injury listings for the Thunder heading into Game 5 are Jalen Williams, who has been listed as questionable with a hamstring strain after exiting Game 2 just seven minutes in, and Ajay Mitchell, who is ruled out with a right soleus strain. With both Williams and Mitchell sidelined in Game 4, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs had little trouble rolling to a dominant win, Wemby dropped 33 points and 8 rebounds as San Antonio held OKC to just 33% shooting from the field and limited them to six made threes.
What Game 5 actually looks like for OKC
The Thunder shot a miserable 6-for-33 from three-point range in their Game 4 collapse and turned the ball over 17 times, gifting San Antonio 27 points off turnovers alone. SGA himself had an off night, finishing with 19 points in the blowout. The series is now tied 2-2, with tonight's game a genuine pressure cooker, OKC back home, shorthanded, and needing a bounce-back performance from their MVP. The oblique rumour doesn't hold up. The real story is whether a depleted Thunder roster can protect home court without two key contributors, and whether SGA can shake off his worst postseason game of the year.
