The OKC Thunder somehow led through the second half despite the Timberwolves shooting 57% from the field. While the Timberwolves struggled with turnovers, they were a lot more efficient from beyond the arc. They shot 47% from beyond the three-point line in the first half. However, the Thunder ensured they kept the lead with a steady flow of offense coming from Jalen Williams (15 points), not just Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They won the first half 65-57.
Gilgeous-Alexander, however, led all scorers with 21 points in the first half. He went to the free throw line six times and made five of them. During a trip to the free-throw line, the Timberwolves fans started chanting “free throw merchant” in unison. This moment was caught on tape by SportsCenter.
Wolves fans are chanting "free throw merchant" at SGA 😅 pic.twitter.com/TBh16JP0MK
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 27, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in the regular season for free-throw attempts with 8.8 per game. He apparently claims that his free-throw shooting has come under the microscope only because the Thunder are winning now. In 2022-23, when the Thunder finished as the 10th seed in the West, no one cared that he averaged nearly 11 free throws a game (10.9).
He seems to enjoy the attention that he is getting from fans due to his ability to reach the free-throw line and get 50-50 calls in his favor.
What Others Think About Gilgeous-Alexander’s Free-Throw Shooting
From opposing coaches to players, almost no team has gone through this season without expressing frustration with the number of fouls Gilgeous-Alexander is able to draw. David Adelman, Michael Malone, Chris Finch, and even Anthony Edwards, almost all the recent opponents of Gilgeous-Alexander, have directly or indirectly called out the favorable whistle he gets from officials, especially during these Playoffs.
Even during Game 4, Doris Burke, who has done this on broadcast before as well, called SGA a “free throw merchant” on air.
"This is why he's called the free-throw merchant." – Doris Burke on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 🏀🎙️ #NBAPlayoffs #NBA pic.twitter.com/FehnQgKmWs
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 27, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander recently secured his first Michael Jordan MVP Award over Nikola Jokic, despite the Serbian averaging a triple-double in the season. While some of the discourse may stem from jealousy of that fact, most stems from the truth. Here’s a look at the fouls he was able to draw in Game 1 of this West Finals series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2_iXjP2T30
It is visible from the video that in at least four of the 13 incidents mentioned, it was Gilgeous-Alexander who either initiated the contact or tripped over nothing and still got a call in his favor. Therefore, it is clear that he has developed a skill to draw fouls.
Only Giannis Antetokounmpo (12.6) and Donovan Mitchell (9.9) average more free-throw attempts than SGA (9.2) in the Playoffs this season. That’s nearly 33% of his 28.7 points per game average in the Playoffs just coming from the free throw line. Do you think this excessive foul drawing has led to a fall in the viewership? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
