Analyst says Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 'free-throw merchant' label's fake news
03/27/2025 12:46 PM
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who earned the "free-throw merchant" moniker this season, has been the topic of debate among NBA circles. Gilgeous-Alexander addressed his free-throw shooting differential, giving officials the benefit of the doubt that they often do their best to make the correct calls. Still, that hasn't prevented others from accusing Shai of being handed free trips to the free-throw line.
One NBA analyst did a deep dive, disproving that Gilgeous-Alexander, aka the free-throw merchant, isn't who the kids believe he is. The analyst included coaches' challenges and data that proved SGA is just as much a free-throw merchant as most ball-dominant guards, per Yahoo! Sports' Ben Rohrbach.
"Coaches have challenged defensive foul calls on nine of Gilgeous-Alexander's drives this season, and six of them have been overturned. Only one against Detroit was whistled an offensive foul upon review.
"Hey, the majority of them were overturned," you might say. "That is evidence of foul-baiting!" Sure, you could think that. Or you could consider that Gilgeous-Alexander has logged a league-leading 1,325 drives this season, and on only nine of them (0.7%) did a coach dare to even challenge the call," Rohrbach reported.
Gilgeous-Alexander's quickness makes him one of the most challenging covers in the NBA, if not the hardest to stay in front of, which is why it's no surprise that none have earned more trips to the free-throw line.
"Gilgeous-Alexander's 606 free-throw attempts this season lead the league. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo (600) is within 99 free throws of Gilgeous-Alexander. James Harden (507) is third," Rohrbach added.
Trailing Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo (10.4), Gilgeous-Alexander averages the second-most free-throw attempts (8.9) in the NBA this season. He's also the fifth-most-efficient free-throw shooter (90.2%). And, as the league-leading scorer, it's no surprise Gilgeous-Alexander is favored to win the MVP.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 'nobody's perfect' take after Thunder win
After beating the Kings 121-105, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addressed his free-throw shooting differential this season.
"The refs are gonna go out there and honestly, genuinely not see a foul or call something they think they see," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "They have to go out there and do a job the same way I do. And nobody's perfect at their job, and that's just how I see it. I don't think they ever try to miss a call; I don't ever think they try to ref the game differently; I think they just honestly make a mistake, and that's OK. So that's how I see it. I don't really see a difference."
The Thunder will host the Grizzlies on Thursday.
The post Analyst says Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘free-throw merchant’ label’s fake news appeared first on ClutchPoints.
