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The NBA regular season is scheduled to end on Sunday, but dozens of players appear to be done a little early.
In fact, a total of 168 players sat out Friday night due to 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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Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder watch the game against the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on April 10, 2026. (Matthieu Stockman/Getty Images)
Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, for whom Gilgeous-Alexander plays, said his stars “earned the right to sit,” considering they once again clinched first place in the Western Conference.
“If we hadn’t picked up [the No. 1 overall seed] “Coming in tonight, everyone would be playing,” Daigneault told reporters ahead of their game against Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, via ESPN. “We’ve earned the right, over the course of 80 games, to manage their bodies and stuff like that.”
Stars who will speak Friday include LeBron James amid his injuries at the Los Angeles Lakers and Victor Wembanyama, who had 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 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. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
NBA hits Orlando Magic with hefty fine after team fails to accurately disclose player’s availability
With the new wave of load management, a different form of today’s basketball was in the spotlight, as the Boston Celtics made 29 3-pointers, tying an NBA record, against the New Orleans Pelicans. This was the fourth time in NBA history that this was accomplished, but the last time it was done was just Monday, when the Memphis Grizzlies did it.
On April 3, the NBA saw for the second time in its history an average margin of victory of at least 24 points in a slate of at least nine games. The first time was five days ago.
A basketball is placed on the court next to an 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.
