Fans can’t stress enough! Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again found himself amidst a barrage of attacks. The OKC Thunder guard, who is in a back-and-forth battle with Nikola Jokić for the MVP race, had the spotlight on him last night. Taking on the Detroit Pistons, the SGA dropped 48 points with a 17-26 FG. Undoubtedly a remarkable feat. But there was a problem. The performance included 10 FTs. Well, it triggered the ‘foul-baiter‘ label once again. 

On the other hand, NBA player turned ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins came to his rescue. 

Following the OKC vs Nuggets double-header, the MVP ladder took a surprising turn. Nikola Jokić, fighting his way with a triple-double average, made it to the top, forcing Shai to the second spot. While many welcomed the surprising turn, Perkins didn’t seem to have bought into it.

Speaking after the Pistons victory, Perks said, “He is this year’s MVP, and he’s on the verge after this season of joining Michael Jeffrey Jordan for guys that average 30 shooting over 50% for three seasons. He’s done it three seasons in a row.“ Moreover, the former player had a response to the ‘foul baiter‘ allegations as well.

The ex-Celtics player said, “Guys are complaining ‘Oh, he gets the whistle’. Because you can’t guard him, we’re watching teams throw everything and more at him defensively, dive deep into the playoff schemes to try to stop this young man and you can’t.” However, fans seemed to have caught Shai Gilgeous-Alexander red-handed. Let’s dig into it.

Fans find proof against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

A particular play from the Pistons-OKC matchup has been making the rounds online, and for good reason. During a drive to the paint, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can be seen forcefully tangling his hand under Ausar Thompson’s head—just enough to sell the contact. And guess what? The refs bought it. The whistle blew, and just like that, SGA walked to the line and stole two easy points from the charity stripe.

Well, there’s no denying it—SGA got caught red-handed. In response, one fan didn’t hold back, writing, “More unethical hoops from OKC and SGA, we shouldn’t be surprised at this point.”

And honestly, for those who can’t stand foul-baiting, this is nothing new. Let’s be real—there’s hardly a game where Shai doesn’t get at least a few whistles going his way.

Building on that, another fan found a match for the OKC guard’s playing style, writing, “Shai is following Embiids exact path, lots of flopping and forcing narratives but no playoff success.” Well, the Cameroonian big man faced the same amount of criticism for his free-throw rally.

He did win an MVP for his style in the 2022-23 season, averaging 33.1 ppg and 10.2 rbs. This season, SGA has averaged 33.0 ppg and 6.2 apg. Implying the spitting image of both stars’ stat line, the same fan continued, “He will win his MVP this season and will ride into the sunset.“

It meant only one thing. The Canadian guard wouldn’t go far in the playoffs just like Joel Embiid. The big man hasn’t gone past the playoff’s second round. Building on that, another fan wrote, “That’s why he’s won only 1 playoff series in 7 years bc that shit don’t fly in the playoffs. They make you play bb not be a FT merchant in playoff bb.” Last season, SGA played 10 playoff games and averaged 30.2 ppg and exited in the second round. Can he prove them wrong? Only time will tell.

Another fan blamed the refs, asking, “Why don’t the refs stop calling this garbage?… Makes me want him to lose MVP with this crap.“

That’s the real head-scratcher—no one seems to have an answer for it. Stephen Curry, who makes similar drives to the paint, barely gets the whistle. Meanwhile, SGA gets the call almost every time. It leaves fans with just one option—shrug and wonder what exactly the refs are looking at.

While everyone criticized the guard for his playing style, a fan had a rare argument. They wrote, “Thing is, SGA really has skill. He dont need to be doing all that garbage. Ruining the integrity of the game.” Well, that’s a questionable statement. Does baiting a foul question the integrity of the game? Let us know in the comments below.