168 NBA players sit out games due to illness, injury as playoffs approach

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The NBA regular season ends Sunday, but dozens of players appear to have wrapped up a bit early.

In fact, 168 total players sat out games Friday night due to either a listed injury or illness.

Among those 168 players were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić, the last two league MVPs whose teams faced off against one another.

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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, Colo., April 10, 2026. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, whom Gilgeous-Alexander plays for, said his stars "earned the right to sit" considering they again snagged the top seed in the Western Conference.

"If we didn't clinch [the No. 1 overall seed] coming into tonight, everybody would be playing," Daigneault told reporters ahead of a game against Jokic's Denver Nuggets, via ESPN. 

"We've earned the right through 80 games to manage their bodies and stuff like that."

Stars to take the floor on Friday included LeBron James amid his Los Angeles Lakers' injury woes and Victor Wembanyama, who needed to play 20 minutes to be eligible for season awards and admitted he would not have played if he had already met the criteria. Jokic must play 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, Colo., April 10,