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The NBA regular season will end on Sunday, but dozens of players appear to have finished a little early.
In fact, 168 total players were out of action Friday night due to a listed injury or illness.
Among those 168 players were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, each of the last two MVPs, whose teams faced each other.
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Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander watch the game against the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on April 10, 2026. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Head coach of the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Mark Daigneault, for whom Gilgeous-Alexander plays, said his stars “earned the right to sit,” considering they once again clinched the top spot in the Western Conference.
“If we fail to ensure [the No. 1 overall seed] Coming into tonight, everyone would be playing,” Daigneault told reporters before their game against Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, via ESPN. “We’ve earned the right over 80 games to manage their bodies and things like that.”
Stars taking the court Friday include LeBron James amid the Los Angeles Lakers’ injury woes and Victor Wembanyama, who needed to play 20 minutes to be eligible for season awards and admitted he wouldn’t have played if he had already met the criteria. Jokic must play on Sunday if he wants to be considered for the awards.
Zeke Nnaji, Peyton Watson, Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun and Julian Strawther of the Denver Nuggets sit on the bench during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on April 10, 2026. (AArón Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
NBA HITS ORLANDO MAGIC WITH HEAVY FINE AFTER TEAM FAILED TO ACCURATELY DISCLOSE PLAYER AVAILABILITY
With the new wave of load management, another form of today’s basketball was on display as the Boston Celtics hit 29 three-pointers, tying an NBA record, against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was the fourth time in NBA history that this was achieved, but the last time it was done you only have to go back to Monday, when the Memphis Grizzlies did it.
On April 3, the NBA saw just the second time in history that a series of at least nine games had an average margin of victory of at least 24 points. The first time was five days before.
A basketball is placed on the court next to the NBA logo during a break in the first half of a 2023 NBA Summer League game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 7, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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The 30 NBA teams played their 81st game on Friday and will play their 82nd and final game of the regular season on Sunday.
