Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at loss for words after Chet Holmgren injury adds to Thunder’s brutal pile-on

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been hit as hard as any team in recent NBA history by the injury bug in the first week of the 2026 NBA season, recently losing Chet Holmgren for the foreseeable future with a knee issue. Holmgren joins Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams as long-term injury absences for the Thunder, all of which were suffered in the same game last week vs the Los Angeles Clippers.

Now, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has shared his candid reaction to the brutal injury luck at this early portion of the season.

"I don't know. We have some figuring out to do for sure," he said, when asked how the Thunder can adjust to their new reality, per Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire on X, formerly Twitter.

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He also showed his support for Holmgren amid the tough setback.

"He loves the game. He works hard," he said.

The injuries to Holmgren and Williams in particular have caused some fans to wonder whether the Thunder might have to have some difficult conversations about potentially moving one or both of the former All-Stars, considering that both have been massive injury red flags throughout the course of their careers thus far.

One thing that no one in Oklahoma City wants to see is a year of SGA's prime being wasted, so it would not be a surprise to see general manager Sam Presti begin to work the phones and see if he can cash in on some of the Thunder's future assets in order to bring in a win-now player.

In any case, the Thunder have now lost two straight games in ugly fashion and will next hit the floor on Monday vs the Cleveland Cavaliers.