Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has maintained his dominant form throughout the season as the Oklahoma City Thunder clinch the No.1 seed in the Western Conference for a second year in a row.
However, the point guard has also been scrutinized by fans for depending on free throws by getting fouled to pad his points tally. For those fans, Shai’s father sent a stern message.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Father Calls Out NBA Fans for Deriding the OKC Thunder Point Guard’s Skills
SGA leads the league in scoring, averaging 32.9 points, along with 5.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game, which has made him a clear favorite in the MVP race. However, NBA fans have been highlighting Shai’s propensity to be fouled and then score with free throws.
Shai’s father, Vaughn Alexander, recently appeared on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast and labeled such fans as haters. “Man, it’s like, you know, if you ain’t doing nothing, nobody ain’t talking about you, right?” he said. “You’re gonna have no haters when you do nothing, you can do nothing proper, right?”
“So, at the end of the day, I just look at it, a lot of it, it’s like, hater stuff because at the end of the day, drawing fouls is a part of the game, it’s actually a skill.”
SGA’s dad speaks on people calling him a free throw merchant on Gils Arena pic.twitter.com/SXNLq2cEvF
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Alexander pointed out that players like Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant were also labeled similar things during their prime. He also highlighted that generational players get the tag of drawing fouls easily and suggested that Magic Johnson’s joke for Michale Jordan during the 1992 Olympics was indicative of this fact.
“So, I’m just saying, at the end of the day, he’s changing pace. He’s not trying to blow by you with speed and the strength. And he’s not gonna dunk it out or touch the moon. We don’t think the game’s about that, really.”
“It’s about like I said, it’s up (pointing to his head) here. Of course, you have to have some athleticism with it. But his first step is what this thing, I mean, he’s not gonna run a 50-yard after fastest guy.”
“I mean, his first step is, you know, he’s gonna lower your sleep a little bit, then change pace and change direction on you. So that’s gonna lead to foul sometime…”
Gilgeous-Alexander will take the court on Saturday, March 29, against the Indiana Pacers at Paycom Center. Fans want his silky movements, drop shoulder tricks, and free throws to get them past the winning line.