168 NBA players sit out games as season wraps

The NBA regular season ends Sunday, but dozens of players appear to have finished a little early.

In fact, a total of 168 players did not play Friday night due to injury or illness.

Among those 168 players were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić, the last two league MVPs whose teams played against each other.

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Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder watch a game against the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on April 10, 2026. (Matthieu Stockman/Getty Images)

Defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, for whom Gilgeous-Alexander plays, said his stars “earned the right to sit” given 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 before the game against Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, via ESPN.

“We earned the right through 80 games to manage their bodies and stuff like that.”

Among the stars who spoke Friday were 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 Jokić, 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 manifested itself 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 had been accomplished.

The Memphis Grizzlies converted 29 on Monday.

On April 3, at least nine games recorded an average margin of victory of at least 24 points for the second time in league history. The first time was five days earlier.

A basketball is placed on the court next to an NBA logo during a timeout 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. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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The 30 NBA teams played their 81st games on Friday and will play their 82nd and final games of the regular season on Sunday.

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