NBA sees 168 players sit out of games due to illness, injury as playoffs approach

The NBA regular play is acceptable to decorativeness connected Sunday, but dozens of players look to beryllium wrapped up a spot early.

In fact, 168 full players sat retired of enactment connected Friday nighttime owed to either a listed wounded oregon illness.

Among those 168 players were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, each of the past 2 MVPs, whose teams faced disconnected against 1 another.

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Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder ticker the crippled against the Denver Nuggets during the archetypal 4th astatine Ball Arena successful Denver, Colorado, connected April 10, 2026. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder caput manager Mark Daigneault, whom Gilgeous-Alexander plays for, said his stars "earned the close to sit," considering they again snagged the apical effect successful the Western Conference.

"If we didn't clinch [the No. 1 wide seed] coming into tonight, everybody would beryllium playing," Daigneault told reporters up of their crippled against Jokic's Denver Nuggets, via ESPN. "We've earned the close done 80 games to negociate their bodies and worldly similar that."

Stars to instrumentality the level connected Friday see LeBron James amid his Los Angeles Lakers' wounded woes and Victor Wembanyama, who needed to play 20 minutes to beryllium eligible for play awards and admitted helium would not person played if helium had already met the criteria. Jokic indispensable play Sunday if helium wants to beryllium considered for awards.

Zeke Nnaji, Peyton Watson, Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun and Julian Strawther of the Denver Nuggets beryllium connected the seat during the 2nd 4th against the Oklahoma City Thunder astatine Ball Arena successful Denver, Colorado, connected April 10, 2026. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

NBA HITS ORLANDO MAGIC WITH HEFTY FINE AFTER TEAM FAILED TO ACCURATELY DISCLOSE PLAYER'S AVAILABILITY

With the caller question of load management, different signifier of today's hoops was connected display, arsenic the Boston Celtics made 29 3-pointers, tying an NBA record, against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was the 4th clip successful the past of the NBA that this had been accomplished, but the past clip it was done, you lone person to spell backmost to Monday, erstwhile the Memphis Grizzlies did it.

On April 3, the NBA saw conscionable the 2nd clip successful past that a slate of astatine slightest 9 games had an mean borderline of triumph of astatine slightest 24 points. The archetypal clip was 5 days prior.

A hoops is placed connected the tribunal adjacent to an NBA logo during a interruption successful the archetypal fractional of a 2023 NBA Summer League crippled betwixt the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets astatine the Thomas & Mack Center connected July 07, 2023 successful Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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All 30 NBA teams played successful their 81st games connected Friday and volition play successful their 82nd and last crippled of the regular play Sunday.

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