Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s style of play has come under the microscope amid the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Playoffs run. Fantasy sports company Underdog recently ran a promotion mocking the two-time NBA MVP’s on-court theatrics and later received a cease and desist letter from his lawyers.
Underdog Reacts After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Cease-and-Desist Over Board Game Mocking Him
Underdog has responded to the cease-and-desist letter, stating that it has no plans to stop promoting the game. The letter had claimed that the board game used Gilgeous-Alexander’s name, image, or likeness without his permission.
The company launched a new game called “Unethical Hoops,” based on the classic Operation board game. The game poked fun at SGA’s ability to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line at will. It was announced in a viral social media post involving Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks earlier this month.
The premise of the game is similar to Operation and involves players using small tweezers to remove basketballs from the board without fouling the character, who is modeled after Gilgeous-Alexander.
Despite the attempts of Gilgeous-Alexander’s lawyers to get Underdog to immediately stop promoting “Unethical Hoops” and destroy all available physical copies of the game, the fantasy sports company is not backing down.
“We’ve poked fun at Knicks and Lakers fans, the Red Sox owners, the Mets and more. We like to have some fun with whatever is in the sports fan zeitgeist,” an Underdog spokesperson said in a statement to PFSN.
Only 100 physical copies of “Unethical Hoops” were made available, with the winners of a contest on the Underdog app receiving them as giveaways. The winners of the contest are set to be announced this Friday. Fans can enter the contest via the Underdog app.
Many NBA players and coaches, including JJ Redick and Devin Booker, have called out Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder for receiving favorable calls from referees throughout the playoffs. Some San Antonio Spurs fans have even resorted to chanting “flopper“ at SGA during the Western Conference Finals.
Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are one game away from making a second straight trip to the NBA Finals. The Thunder lead the Spurs 3-2, and victory at the Frost Bank Center tonight would see them book a Finals spot against the New York Knicks. Game 6 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
