Photo: Peter Baba

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is set to make his return after being sidelined by an abdominal strain that caused him to sit out the previous nine contests.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have not included Gilgeous-Alexander on their injury report for the upcoming Friday matchup versus the Denver Nuggets.

The player can afford no more than six additional absences to stay qualified for regular-season honors.

Gilgeous-Alexander is putting up 31.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game across 33.3 minutes of play, holding the top spot as the leading candidate for NBA Most Valuable Player.

The Thunder maintain a slim one-game advantage in the loss column for the top position in the Western Conference over the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs possess the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage against the Thunder from their earlier meetings.

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