Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Nikola Jokic was the highlight of Sunday afternoon, and surprisingly, it did disappoint. The 127-103 win showed again just how far this OKC Thunder team has elevated themselves. SGA was again the difference maker, with his 40 points compared to Jokic’s 24. That wasn’t all. The Canadian also managed to unlock a shiny new achievement. But the way Shai did, it was not in a crowd-pleasing manner.

With the latest 30+ game, SGA made himself part of an exclusive list. He became the second player in the last 40 years to record 30+ points in 40+ games over 3 consecutive seasons. The other one? The legendary Michael Jeffrey Jordan. That’s some elite accomplishment. But instead of celebrating this remarkable achievement, the NBA community couldn’t stop talking about his on-court antics that led to those points.

A clip is going viral on X where Shai is seen attempting a layup when Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook makes slight contact with him. Shai fell to the floor. The ball missed the target and Russ was handed a shooting foul. This happened early in the third quarter, with over three minutes played, and Shai was awarded two free throws, which he calmly converted into points. But that didn’t sit well with the unforgiving fans, who flooded the comment section, scrutinizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the incident.

NBA community doesn’t spare Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for his antics against Nuggets

“You can’t be a hoops fan and think Shai game is pure. It’s nasty,” wrote one fan. The reason for the reaction was because the fan felt Shai relied too much on drawing fouls to get to the free-throw line rather than pure or clean basketball. According to this person, no true hoops fan would consider the OKC guard’s game to be clean. There were others as well, sharing the same sentiment.

Another fan sarcastically commented, “Nba shoud have a MVF award, for most valuable flopper.” They criticized Shai’s actions as overly dramatic and not in the spirit of fair competition, mockingly labeling the 26-year-old as a “flopper” who deserves the MVF instead of MVP.

Someone highlighted, “Plays like this are a big part of what has ruined the NBA.” This fan, like many others, believed that Westbrook’s touch wasn’t enough to give Shai an advantage on the play, yet it still led to free throws. They emphasized that such actions are what have contributed to the downfall of the league.

Meanwhile, another comment “Why are ratings low?” pointed out this as one of the factors behind the league’s low ratings. This has been an ongoing issue, pushing league officials to consider drastic measures to address it and boost ratings. However, the community believes that plays like Shai’s and questionable referee decisions are what drive people away, leading to fewer fans tuning in to the games now.

“This is ridiculous,” stated an X user. “In soccer when a player flops trying to convince the ref to whistle a penalty, he is punished with a yellow card. I think the same should happen in NBA: if a player flops like this he gets a technical foul.” Drawing a parallel to soccer, where players are penalized for making theatrical moves to frame opponents, the fan is calling for the league to implement similar consequences. They further concluded with a taunt, saying, “No surprise ratings are so low, no one likes flops.”

Do you agree with the fans who are calling out Shai, or do you think it was a deserving foul on Russ? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!