“I think it’s ridiculous. It’s part of the narrative to talk about. We’ve seen this for years and years and years. Great players know how to get to the free-throw line. It’s a skill,” said Mike Breen in an attempt to dismiss the ‘free-throw merchant’ criticism aimed at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The sports commentator might not have even chosen to comment on it, had it not been for his peers and fans of rival teams, using it to put down the 2025 NBA MVP.
Throughout the season, Shai and the OKC squad have tried to avoid getting affected by it. As head coach Mark Daigneault revealed, “Hate is the highest of compliments when it comes to the great players. Comes with the territory”. However, no matter how much he dismisses it, or SGA reportedly “laughed off the notion”, there is no denying that the Thunder star has built a reputation that makes him worthy of that tag. He kept getting heckled over it in the recent games, and he will get heckled over it again when OKC plays at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse during the NBA Finals. Therefore, without any further ado, let us know more about this ‘free-throw merchant’ tag.
Why is Shai-Gilgeous Alexander often referred to as a ‘free-throw merchant?
When one wants to deduce why Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is called a “free throw merchant”, all they need to do is look at a few of the player’s games this tournament. There, you would be able to see how, as The Athletic reporter Eric Nehm highlighted, Shai can put defenders in precarious positions and generate free throws by intentionally drawing fouls. This certainly allows him to generate some easy points for his team by continuously going and going to the free throw line.
Through the moniker, fans suggest that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s dominance has more to do with his knack for drawing fouls than his ability to create, shoot, and/or finish at the rim. The fact that the stats speak for themselves, too, doesn’t help things. While Giannis led the league this tournament in free throw attempts with 707, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came in 2nd with 669. He ranks 36th all-time in free throw attempts per game with 7.0 per game, placing right behind players like Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Luka Doncic, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and Trae Young.
However, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken a high number of free throws in the postseason, his regular-season average of 8.8 attempts per game is actually down from 10.9 last year. Despite that, those shots are still the second-most in the league. Therefore, rival fans have got the ammunition, and they will continue using it.
Did ESPN commentator Doris Burke call Shai-Gilgeous Alexander a ‘free-throw merchant’?
It is safe to say that ESPN’s Doris Burke is not the most loved individual on the NBA court. More often than not, she gets criticized by fans for allegedly favoring one team over the other, providing takes without being observant or doing her research, or making ‘cringe’ jokes over people like JJ Redick. Therefore, she certainly did not gain any more love after going against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander himself.
During Game 1 of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Minnesota Timberwolves series, Doris Burke returned to the courtside and to her duties as a commentator. In the 1st quarter itself, she drew some attention when the Timberwolves were leading 10-7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made 2 free throws. The incident caused Mike Breen to state, “[SGA] has taken 7 free throws already in 4 and a half minutes.” That, in turn, led to Burke saying, “There’s a reason NBA Twitter likes to call [Shai] the free throw merchant, Mike”. Yikes! Burke certainly made it hard to avoid the tag after that, since it went from the confines of X to out on the NBA court.
Doris Burke on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander:
“There’s a reason NBA Twitter calls him the free throw merchant” pic.twitter.com/1jrGmHIIIf
— Hamz Talks Hoops (@hamztalkshoops_) May 21, 2025
The incident did not earn the commentator much love from OKC fans. After all, she reminded fans of the rival team of the nickname through which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets attacked often. Soon, the comments sections on X were filled up with remarks like “Don’t even know why she is broadcasting for the NBA much less the playoffs!!”, and “ESPN’s Dollor Store commentators make me watch the NBA games on mute!”.
Recently, Doris Burke explained why she used the term. During a recent interview with Alex Feuz, she stated that she and her team “talked about the storyline, ‘free throw merchant,’ and we did that because in Minnesota, 19,000 fans were chanting ‘free throw merchant.’ We know the viewer at home can hear that. And if they can’t hear it, they are wondering what’s being chanted. And so we felt going in as a broadcast team, ‘this is a storyline. If it plays out where there’s a number of free throws happening, it’s something we need to discuss.’”
Fair enough. If fans themselves are not letting Shai live down the term, then who is she to avoid it?
What was Shai-Gilgeous Alexander’s response to being labelled as a ‘free throw merchant’?
It would be hard for the chants to be called out by rival fans, commentators, and for the man behind the whole thing not to speak out on it. Especially when it was quite audible to the people at the Target Center during Game 4 of the OKC-Timberwolves series. First, his actions showed that he didn’t care, as the player scored 40 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 128-126 win. Sure, 12 of them came from free throws, since he had shot 12-14 (85.7%). At the same time, however, the NBA MVP also made 13-30 (43.3%) field goals and 2-7 (28.6%) 3-pointers.
Later, however, Shai also added some words to those actions. After the game, he said, “Like, the way I see it, fans are gonna do whatever they can do to help their team win and knock me off my game, me being the head of the snake of our team. And that’s their job, that’s what creates home-court advantage, that’s what creates a fanbase, that’s what creates energy in the building, and they want the Timberwolves to win. They don’t want the Oklahoma City Thunder to win. So I expect nothing else”.
May 28, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with Magic Johnson West Conference Finals MVP trophy after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five to win the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
If he wasn’t expecting anything less back then, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also should not care when those chants come up again in the NBA Finals. After all, the chance of coming so close to the Larry O’Brien trophy might not come again for OKC soon.
The post Why Is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Called Free-Throw Merchant? Examining OKC Star’s Controversial Tag appeared first on EssentiallySports.