Shai Gilgeous-Alexander powered the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 141-135 double-overtime win against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Thursday. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a career-high 55 points in the NBA Finals rematch, and a big chunk of those came from the free-throw line.
Gilgeous-Alexander went 23-26 from the charity stripe against the Pacers and set a new NBA record in the process. The 27-year-old had gone 10-14 from the line against the Houston Rockets on opening night, and according to ESPN Insights, his 40 attempts are the most through a player’s first two games of the season in NBA history.
Gilgeous-Alexander has mastered the art of drawing fouls at this point, much to the dismay of a section of basketball fans. He was even showered with “free-throw merchant” chants by Minnesota Timberwolves fans in the playoffs last season.
It’s essential to consider the circumstances here, though. The Thunder are the first team in NBA history to go to double overtime in each of their first two games. That has resulted in Gilgeous-Alexander playing around 92 minutes, so his numbers are a bit inflated.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 15 of those 40 free throws in overtime this season. So, the reigning MVP would be at 25 attempts if these two games had ended in regulation. That is still a high number, as we’re looking at 12.5 attempts per game on average, but it’s not in the record-breaking range.
Also, for all the “free-throw merchant” allegations last season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 8.8 attempts per game, which ranked third in the NBA. The number went up to 9.4 in the playoffs, but it was again only the third-highest.
While some might be offended by the label, Gilgeous-Alexander has made it clear he isn’t bothered by it. The three-time All-Star is only focused on winning games, and the Thunder have gotten off to the perfect start. The defending champions are 2-0, and you wouldn’t bet against them finishing with the best record in the NBA yet again in 2025-26.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Has Set Another Record
Gilgeous-Alexander has set more than one record by getting off to this hot start. He has put up 90 points combined over the first two games, and that is the most by a reigning MVP in the first two games of a season.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who is now averaging 45.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game in 2025-26, smashed the previous record, which was 72 by Michael Jordan back in 1991. Now again, all those extra periods helped, but this is still quite an achievement.
Paul George stated Gilgeous-Alexander’s 2024-25 campaign was the best by a guard since Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls, and it will be interesting to see if he can better that. He won the title, Finals MVP, and scoring title in 2025, so it won’t be easy to improve on that.
We’ll see Gilgeous-Alexander in action next when the Thunder take on the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Saturday at 7:30 PM ET. The Hawks gave up 138 points to the Toronto Raptors in their opener, so there is a good chance we’ll see another special performance from the Canadian superstar.
