Report: NBA Investigating Thunder After SGA, All 5 Starters Sat vs. Trail Blazers

The NBA is investigating the Oklahoma City Thunder for a potential violation of the league's player participation policy, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

The game under review is Oklahoma City's 107-89 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 7.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed the contest due to rest, while the remaining four members of the Thunder starting lineup were also ruled out (via Clemente Almanza of OKC Thunder Wire).

Charania noted that the NBA has been "closely monitoring potentially improper absences" as of late, handing the Utah Jazz a $100,000 fine on Wednesday.

The Philadelphia 76ers are also under investigation regarding missed time by the team's stars.

For Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander was the only starter ruled out with a rest designation against Portland. Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein all missed the game with respective injuries.

Second-year guard Cason Wallace was also declared out.

The Thunder were still able to emerge victorious due to the heroics of Aaron Wiggins, who scored a game-high 30 points against the Trail Blazers. Jaylin Williams also finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

The matchup with Portland occurred during a busy stretch of the season for Oklahoma City, playing in seven games from March 2 through Wednesday. The clash with the Trail Blazers also occurred just before a series of back-to-back contests against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday and Monday.

This isn't the first time that the Thunder have been under investigation for violating league injury reporting rules under head coach Mark Daigneault, as they were fined $25,000 for a similar incident in Nov. 2022.

Oklahoma City currently sits at No. 1 in the Western Conference standings with a record of 54-12.