Thunder Notes: PPP, Topic, Williams, Boeheim

The NBA is looking at the Thunder for player absences in last Wednesday’s game against San Antonio, tweets Dan Woike of The Athletic.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort, and Alex Caruso all missed that nationally televised game after having played the previous night vs. Orlando. With the exception of Gilgeous-Alexander, who has remained sidelined due to an abdominal strain, the others were all back in action for the Thunder’s next game on Saturday.

If a team plans to sit a player for one game in a back-to-back set, the NBA typically wants it to happen during the game that isn’t nationally televised, so the league will consider whether Oklahoma City violated its player participation policy (PPP). However, besides SGA, none of those Thunder players meet the “star” criteria, and Rylan Stiles of SI.com suggests (via Twitter) that all their health issues were legitimate, so we’ll see if anything comes of the investigation.

Here’s more on the Thunder:

• After missing his entire rookie season in 2024/25 due to a torn ACL and then undergoing treatment for testicular cancer this past fall, Thunder guard Nikola Topic made his G League debut on Monday. In his first game for the Oklahoma City Blue, the 20-year-old Serbian had seven points and seven assists in 16 minutes off the bench. “Great accomplishment,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said, per The Associated Press. “Just can’t say enough about him as a guy, his mental toughness, maturity, resilience. … He hasn’t played a lot of basketball over the last two years, and he comes off a one-year rehab and immediately has a surprising diagnosis and goes through chemotherapy, three rounds of it. So for him to work himself back onto the court is just an unbelievable accomplishment, and we’re incredibly happy for him.”
• Jalen Williams‘ return following a 10-game absence due to a hamstring strain was a success, writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. Williams scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help Oklahoma City secure a 119-110 road win over the Lakers. “He slammed the door on that game,” Daigneault said. “It was impressive. He’s got such a body of work that we’re not overly concerned with how he plays coming back. We’re just happy he’s back. … Obviously, he was huge tonight. We know he’s a big-time player.”
• Buddy Boeheim‘s new two-way contract with the Thunder will cover two seasons, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Boeheim joined the team last Friday, filling the roster opening created when the team waived Chris Youngblood, who had reached his 50-game limit.