The NBA named Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the league's Most Valuable Player in 2025. Gilgeous-Alexander is the third player in franchise history to win the award, joining Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
With his rise to becoming one of the NBA's best players, Gilgeous-Alexander has been criticized plenty, just like any NBA superstar. These days, his ability to draw fouls has been an ongoing critique of his game.
What makes Gilgeous-Alexander so hard to stop is how easily he can trick his defender into making illegal contact with him while shooting, which gets him many free throws.
OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2)
OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2)
© Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Because Gilgeous-Alexander gets flak for his foul drawing, especially during these playoffs, he responded to this narrative.
Former NBA star and Brooklyn Nets alum Richard Jefferson revealed what the Thunder star told him about said narrative before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on "The Road Trippin Show."
"You know what's crazy about it? Two years ago, I averaged almost 11 free throws a game, but we finished 10th, and no one cared," Gilgeous-Alexander reportedly said, per Jefferson. "Now, I'm averaging nine free throws a game, so I'm averaging less free throws than I did then."
Gilgeous Alexander clarified the difference in the last two years while talking with Jefferson.
"When I wasn't sending their favorite player home, when I wasn't sending their team home, then no one cared that I was shooting 11 free throws a night and scoring this amount of points," Gilgeous-Alexander told Jefferson. "Now that I'm doing it and I'm averaging nine free throws, the whole world is exploding about it. I love it. It just means they're thinking about me."
In Game 1, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 14 free throws against the Minnesota Timberwolves, making 11 of them.