OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be out of action until after the All-Star break due to an abdominal strain, the team announced Wednesday.
The reigning MVP suffered the injury during Oklahoma City's 128-92 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. The Canadian guard will sit out the All-Star games on Feb. 15. Commissioner Adam Silver will choose his replacement for the World team in the round-robin competition.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed Wednesday night 116-106 loss at San Antonio. The Thunder have four more games before All-Star Weekend, including a home game against Houston on Saturday and a visit to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. The team said it will re-evaluate him after the break.
It's a huge loss for the defending NBA champion Thunder, who have a league-best 40-12 record. Gilgeous-Alexander is the league's No. 2 scorer with 31.8 points per game, and he is having perhaps his best all-around season. He ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage at 55.4% (14th) and in assists, with 6.4 per contest (15th).
“He’s certainly a high-usage, high-impact player for us," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said before the game at San Antonio. “So we’ve got to do it as a group and collectively, which is what we do when he’s on the bench and he’s not on the court.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is on a streak of 121 consecutive games with at least 20 points scored — the second longest in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain's run of 126 straight. He scored 20 points on Tuesday night.
His injury is the latest in a string of health setbacks for the Thunder.
In the win over Orlando, Oklahoma City played without Jalen Williams, who missed his eighth straight game with a hamstring injury, and Ajay Mitchell, who sat out his sixth game in a row with an abdominal strain. Williams was an All-Star in 2025 and Mitchell has been one of the league's most improved players in his second year.
The Thunder sat much of their team on Wednesday. Williams and Mitchell remained out. All-Star Chet Holmgren (lower back spasms), starting guard Lu Dort (knee inflammation), starting center Isaiah Hartenstein (eye abrasion) and reserve Alex Caruso (right adductor) were sidelined.
It was a busy Wednesday for the Thunder. They acquired guard Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers for draft picks and traded away reserve forward Ousmane Dieng, who ended up with Charlotte.
As usual, Daigneault saw potential in the situation. He has built a reputation for developing young players, and those that remain will get more opportunities in the coming weeks.
“We’ve played a lot of games like this over the last couple of years, and we’ve gotten something out of them, usually,” he said.
AP freelance writer Raul Dominguez in San Antonio contributed to this report.
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) handles the ball against Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks back after making a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) looks for an outlet against Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
PARIS (AP) — French municipal elections Sunday gave political parties an early test of their electoral machines before next year’s presidential race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, with a first round of voting for mayors and their teams across France, from small villages to the biggest cities.
Although largely focused on grassroots concerns, the voting was being scrutinized for hints of how parties might fare in the presidential election of 2027, when Macron's second and last term as president ends, and in particular whether the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen is continuing to gain ground.
More than 904,000 candidates for municipal posts in roughly 35,000 villages, towns and cities were on the ballots Sunday. In places where the outcome remains undecided, a second round of voting next Sunday will determine final results.
Attention turned to races in key cities, including Paris, where polling agencies' projections pointed to a possibly suspenseful second-round runoff, with multiple candidates advancing. Official results were expected later Sunday night. Incumbent Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo, elected in 2014 and reelected in 2020, decided against seeking a third term, having steered the French capital through the trauma of extremist attacks in 2015 and the exuberance of the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Another uncertain second-round contest was shaping up in Marseille, France’s second-largest city, with incumbent left-wing Mayor Benoît Payan facing a stiff challenge from the National Rally's candidate, Franck Allisio.
Projections also pointed to a strong showing for the National Rally candidate facing a runoff in the Mediterranean port of Toulon, a major naval base. RN ally Eric Ciotti had a projected first-round lead in Nice, also on the Mediterranean.
The National Rally's president, Jordan Bardella, said voters expressed “a deep desire for change" and appealed for more backing in the second round.
“In 7 days, your vote can change the face of many French towns,” he said. “Change isn’t waiting for 2027. It starts next Sunday.”
Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure urged voters not to hand momentum to the National Rally as it gears up its effort to take the presidential Elysee Palace in next year's election.
“The march of the extreme right to the Elysee isn't inevitable,” he said. “As soon as next Sunday, we can — we must — create new hope for 2027.”
National Rally performances were also being studied for indications of whether the party has been hurt by the possibility that Le Pen herself might be barred from challenging again for the presidency in 2027.
Last year, a French court convicted Le Pen of embezzlement and prohibited her from seeking public office for five years. She is hoping that an appeals court clears her in a key verdict set for July 7. A ruling against her could derail her presidential ambitions.
In towns and cities where three, four or more candidates were projected as advancing from the first round, horse trading in the coming days could see some team up or drop out, narrowing second-round fields.
In the northern English Channel port of Le Havre, former Prime Minister and incumbent Mayor Édouard Philippe came out on top in the first round, official results showed. Winning the runoff against two other candidates who also advanced could give Philippe, who was Macron’s first prime minister, a platform for an expected campaign for the presidency.
The Iran war and its impacts, notably on fuel prices, and other international concerns somewhat drowned out campaigning.
Jérôme Fourquet, director of the opinion department at the IFOP polling institute, said U.S. President Donald Trump and other factors diverted the spotlight from mayoral races.
“We now live at the rhythm of announcements from Trump and of strikes in the Middle East. In this context, there has been very little bandwidth for the municipals,” he said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper.
Oleg Cetinic in Garches, France, and Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed.
French socialist candidate for Paris mayoral election Emmanuel Gregoire smiles as he makes a statement after polls closed after the first round of France's municipal elections in Paris, Sunday March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma da Silva)
Conservative candidate for Paris mayoral election Rachida Dati makes a statement after polls closed during the first round of France's municipal elections in Paris, Sunday March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A woman castes her ballot during the first round of France's municipal elections in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu casts his vote during the first round of France's 2026 municipal elections in Vernon, France Sunday March 15, 2026. (Martin Lelievre/Pool Photo via AP)
Ballots inside a box at a polling station during the first round of the municipal elections in Paris, France, Sunday March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
French President Emmanuel Macron leaves the voting booth before voting for the first round of France's municipal elections in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, northern France, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, Pool)
