Thanks to social media, tunnel visits, and player appearances, the barrier between fan and superstar has never been weaker. Thankfully, it seems like most fan interactions with rival players have been purely trash-talk based, with jabs being taken about players' performances, although in the past, such instances have been racially motivated or inspired by sports betting.
Recently, a Minnesota Timberwolves fan went viral for confronting Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. All season long, the scoring champ has been accused of drawing needless contact and flopping to get foul calls, and the fan didn't hold back.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Getty Images
As Gilgeous-Alexander signed autographs for fans, a rival kept asking him how much he was paying the referees. It's a reasonable complaint for fans, given that he has been to the line ten or more times in three of the four games.
The video amassed 335k views within its first four hours of being up.
Thunder fans were quick to point out the flaw in the argument, saying that OKC had zero free-throw attempts in the second half aside from non-intentional fouls.
"The voice of the average SGA hater," posted a fan in response.
"What an insane weirdo that fan is," said another. "He’s the freaking MVP, you can’t pay the refs to get that."
Gilgeous-Alexander, instead of engaging with the opposing fan, signed autographs and soaked up the "MVP" chants he received from fans, although not everyone would have been as collected as he was.
"Good for him keeping his composure AND signing autographs cuz I woulda said something slick," admitted a fan.
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