Giannis leads the league this season in free throw attempts with 707, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander coming in 2nd with 669. Shai ranks 36th all-time in free throw attempts per game with 7.0 per game — behind players like Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and Trae Young. Despite this, the Thunder star has developed a reputation as a “free-throw merchant,” a tag that continues to follow him — and not just on NBA Twitter anymore.
“Hate is the highest of compliments when it comes to the great players. Comes with the territory,” said OKC head coach Mark Daigneault when addressing the ‘free-throw merchant’ tag about Shai-Gilgeous Alexander. However, no matter how much he dismisses it, or SGA reportedly “laughed off the notion”, there is no denying that the Thunder star had earlier built a reputation that makes him worthy of that tag, and continues doing so. His habit of intentionally drawing fouls that lead to more free throws is now once again drawing attention away from other on-court instances.
The ongoing matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves had renowned NBA sports announcer Doris Burke return to her duties. She caught the attention of fans watching the game from the comfort of their homes during the 1st quarter itself, when the Timberwolves were leading 10-7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made 2 free throws. The incident compelled Mike Breen to state, “[SGA] has taken 7 free throws already in 4 and a half minutes.”
In response, Doris Burke said, “There’s a reason NBA Twitter likes to call [Shai] the free throw merchant, Mike”. Yikes! It’s really hard to avoid the tag now that it has gone from the confines of X to out on the NBA court through the words of a renowned announcer. For Shai, though, none of the noise seems to faze him.
Mike Breen: “[SGA] has taken 7 free throws already in 4 minutes and 30 seconds.”
Doris Burke: “There’s a reason NBA Twitter likes to call [Shai] the free throw merchant, Mike” pic.twitter.com/odGKUnIz4I
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 21, 2025
He’s heard the accusations. The memes. The merchant tags. But he’s also made it clear where his priorities lie. Speaking in an early April interview, the Thunder guard explained: “I shoot a lot of free throws. Now I also drive the most in the NBA and I’ve done that for the last three or four years. And you get fouled on drives statistically more than you get fouled on jump shots. So that’s going to be part of it… I just feel like I’m playing a game of basketball and I’m trying to win. And if it takes nine free throws to win, if it takes 17 free throws to win, if it takes two free throws to win, if it takes 40 free throws to win, I’m going to do whatever it takes to win… I don’t ever go out there and worry about anything besides winning.”
That said, Doris Burke’s remarks would not have played well with quite a few people. After all, while she chose to highlight the ‘free-throw merchant’ tag, she did not say anything when Shai was on the receiving end of a not-so-pleasant move by Anthony Edwards. After SGA drew a foul, with the Timberwolves holding a 10-3 lead, he lay on the ground. Edwards used the chance to throw the ball in his direction. This caused Edwards to walk away with a technical foul. It is important to remember that, by March of this season, the Timberwolves star had already lost $614,000 through fines, technicals, & his 1-game suspension. More than half a million dollars. Therefore, he must have been mad enough to risk incurring another fine.
Even then, however, Doris Burke chose to avoid mentioning his wicked action. There is a good reason why fans would not allow Burke to live off the fact that she roasted the star player of one team while ignoring the one from the other team. After all, she has been accused, in the past, of favoring one squad over the other.
Doris Burke came under attack, over the years, over her Celtics favoritism: “getting on my nerves”
Back in March 2024, Doris Burke came under attack from fans for allegedly favoring the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. The same was highlighted through comments like “@espn doris burke obvious glazing of this team has to be assessed”, and “Doris Burke is deep in her bag of shamelessness tonight.” Later, in March of this year, she was once again under attack when Jaylen Brown’s elbow caught Luka Doncic, but she said, “I don’t think that’s enough unless there’s a different angle here.”
Once again, Burke had to deal with comments like “How do I mute Doris Burke?”, and “Burke dea**** getting on my nerves rn.”
Believe it or not, but this recent incident also isn’t the first time that Shai-Gilgeous Alexander has been especially targeted by her. During a matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers back in March, Burke made a lapse midway through the second quarter when the referee blew the whistle for a foul. It sent a Thunder player to the line for free throws. Since it was free throws, Burke ended up assuming it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After all, the player’s reputation precedes him.
However, it was actually Jalen Williams who went on to make the free throws. That mistake in herself earned her some more backlash, as if she hadn’t already accumulated enough over the years.
Syndication: The Providence Journal Former PC player and sports personality Doris Burke emceed the event. Providence RI , EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKrisxCraigx 18765605
If Doris Burke wishes to pass opinions about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, then it is her right. Even Chris Finch highlighted his true feelings over the Thunder star’s ‘skill’ to draw fouls, stating, “It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton. They really do. They foul all the time. And then you can’t really touch Shai. And it’s a very frustrating thing”.
Then again, the 60-year-old announcer has to provide a balanced viewpoint by either favoring players from both teams or equally calling out their lapses.
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