Despite numerous examples flooding social media this postseason of the OKC Thunder’s two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander selling contact to officials from minimal, or, in some instances, no contact at all, one person has jumped to this year’s NBA MVP’s defense: Draymond Green.
Whether Green, with his own well-known history of questionable on-court behavior, is the person to sway public opinion is unknown. Regardless, he is standing up for the underfire league MVP.
Draymond Green Jumps to The Defense Of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Gilgeous-Alexander’s style of play to draw fouls has been trending and mocked throughout social media this entire postseason run. Statistically, he had as many baskets as he had made free throws, 132 each.
An article by Tom Haberstroh on Yahoo Sports shows, in terms of data, that Gilgeous-Alexander falls twice as often as his peers. Statistically or through the eye test, he falls regardless of the whistle, more than anyone.
There have been questionable instances of Gilgeous-Alexander collapsing to the floor without visible contact during the 7-game series against the San Antonio Spurs. And there have been several low-light reels trending on the social media platform X featuring his various falls.
Another questionable look for the guard is that the Athletic reported that his representatives sent Underdog Sports a cease-and-desist letter over its mocking of his foul-baiting.
Nevertheless, the outspoken Green, a 4-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors and a multiple All-NBA defender, is not accepting criticism of the superstar guard and has stood up to the “flopping” accusations against the Thunder guard.
Draymond Green says players who flop, don’t win championships:
“Guys that flop, don’t win. You just got floppers out there, they don’t win. So y’all can stop calling SGA a flopper, because he’s a champion. I can tell you floppers don’t really win. It just don’t happen. Worried… https://t.co/QWAkAWRgpV pic.twitter.com/MAaxtAXHUV
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 31, 2026
“I don’t really care. As a defender, I’ve played against guys that flop. Guys that flop don’t win.” Green then proclaimed that the recently voted MVP can’t be considered one because he won a championship last season.
“Y’all can stop calling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a ‘flopper’ coz he’s a champion. I can tell you ‘floppers’ don’t really win, it really don’t happen.”
He then claimed that those who complain about it should simply play better defense. “Worried about flopping? Play better defense. If not shut up, that’s how I feel about it.”
In the end, Green’s wish was Stephon Castle’s demand. Castle, who was employed as SGA’s primary defender, did a superb job in limiting Gilgeous-Alexander’s impact.
The Spurs beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City Saturday night with a scintillating display to clinch the Western Conference and set up a mouth-watering NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
Let’s be clear, there is nothing illegal about making the most of contact to earn trips to the charity stripe. Stars such as Trae Young, Joel Embiid, and James Harden have, in the past, benefited from knowing how to attack the paint and take advantage of various levels of contact to get calls.
However, fair or not, the perception right now is that Gilgeous-Alexander is taking it to an extreme. Fully evidenced by his two MVP awards, he’s more than capable of dominating on the court and scoring at all three levels without resorting to contorting his body to sell contact and fall to the ground as often as he has this season.
It’s certainly an unpalatable brand of basketball for NBA purists, with several legitimate claims that his behavior was ‘unethical.’ There will be increased pressure on the NBA to clamp down on ‘flopping’ next season, both from him and the NBA as a whole.
