Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fires back at critics of his free throws

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has acquired a reputation for baiting referees into calling fouls against him, and he responded to that in a new interview.

Gilgeous-Alexander pointed out that the numbers do not back up the narrative that he gets more free throws than any other player. He said he understands why people get upset, but the interest just means more people are paying attention to the sport.

“I understand why [fans] are frustrated about it, because they’re an X, Y and Z fan,” Gilgeous-Alexander told Chris Mannix of SI. “They’re playing against us, and in the past couple years we’ve happened to beat their team. And we beat their team because we scored more points. We scored points at the free throw line, midrange, three-point shot, free throw, everything. So I completely understand why they’re frustrated.

“But you’ll never hear an OKC fan complain about my free throws. You’ll never hear a Denver fan complain about Jokic’s free throws. You’ll never hear a Lakers fan complain about Luka’s free throws. It’s just part of the business. But I love it, it creates buzz around the game. It creates rivalries. It creates energy. It’s what makes the NBA so fun. Honestly, the fact that they care so much is great, because they care, they watch it on TV, the TV deals grow, I get more money. It’s how it goes.”

On a per-game basis, Gilgeous-Alexander is tied for second with 9.1 free throw attempts, alongside Deni Avdija. Luka Doncic averages 10.3 per game to lead the league.

Of course, the numbers do not matter as much as the perception, and even rival players think SGA gets a favorable whistle. That narrative will not be going anywhere anytime soon, so the reigning MVP is probably doing the right thing by just accepting it and seeing it as a positive.