Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just won his second consecutive NBA MVP Award after yet another dominant season, but it was not without controversy. Throughout his career, Gilgeous-Alexander has faced criticism for the number of fouls he draws, with some fans accusing him of “foul baiting.” However, he does not seem concerned about this.
This season, Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in made free throws, making an average of 8.9 free throws per game, which is almost two more free throws per game than the second-place player, Paolo Banchero, who made just 7.1 free throws per game.
Given that Gilgeous-Alexander scores an average of about 29 points per game, that means that the Thunder superstar scores about 30% of his points at the free throw line every game.
‘I Would Hate Me Too’
The sheer number of fouls that Gilgeous-Alexander draws per game has led to some strong criticism from fans, but he does not seem to care all that much about the “foul-baiting” claims.
“It’s fun to me,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the “free-throw merchant” claims, via ESPN. “The way I see it, the fans, the people that watched the games and root against us, they want their team to win. You will never hear an Oklahoma City Thunder fan complaining about my free throws. You will never hear a Lakers fan complaining about LeBron or Luka’s free throws.”
In fact, Gilgeous-Alexander seems to embrace the villain role, as he acknowledged that he understands why opposing fans don’t like him.
“I get it, guys. I would hate me too,” he admitted.
So Much Success
Regardless of the criticism he receives, Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance speaks for itself. He has now won the league’s MVP award for the second season in a row, and now has the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive season as he tries to lead the team to repeat as NBA Champions.
“People don’t actually know what they’re watching with Shai,” teammate Jalen Williams said, via ESPN. “They just see numbers and don’t understand the experience. I wish everyone could sit courtside once in their life just to watch what he does.”
Needless to say, Gilgeous-Alexander won’t be changing the way he plays the game anytime soon, even if it has led to a lot of criticism from fans.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.