People keep criticizing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's game, but it 'does nothing' to him
SAN ANTONIO — Everyone wanted to see Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s fall from grace, until he actually hit the hardwood.
The two-time MVP took a tumble after being bumped by Stephon Castle midway through the third quarter of OKC’s playoff game against San Antonio on Friday, and thousands of Spurs fans made their frustrations known.
“Flopper,” they chanted. “Flopper. Flopper. Flopper. Flopper. Flopper. Flopper. Flopper."
The noise was deafening to nearly everyone inside Frost Bank Center. Everyone but Gilgeous-Alexander, who was too busy making some noise of his own.
After falling behind early on, OKC came roaring back to earn a 123-108 win and claim a 2-1 advantage in the Western Conference finals series. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 26 points, 12 rebounds and just two turnovers in 36 minutes.
It's another strong performance by someone whose play style has been criticized by countless people, from social media users to sports media personalities to opposing players and fans at games. Gilgeous-Alexander has heard it all before, to the point where he can now tune it out.
"It does nothing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the hostility towards him. “It doesn’t fuel me. It doesn't discourage me. It's part of the game. I've been dealing with it a long time. I don't really hear it.”
Gilgeous-Alexander can't be thrown off his game, so the focus now shifts to when he's thrown off-balanced.
Every time he hits the floor after driving toward the rim or losing his landing space on a jump shot or wrestling with a defender, people hit social media to talk about it. That dialogue reached a point Friday where even Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh published an article that tracked every time Gilgeous-Alexander has fallen down this postseason.
Gilgeous-Alexander had fallen 39 times on 224 shot attempts (17.4%) entering Game 3 against San Antonio. It's a higher percentage than other stars who've been criticized for selling contact such as Cleveland's James Harden (11.9%) and New York's Jalen Brunson (9%).
Of course, that stat doesn't provide the context for each collision with the floor. Haberstroh also clarified that falling doesn't automatically equate to flopping. But, unsurprisingly, that's the conclusion people made.
People such as Phoenix's Dillon Brooks, who couldn't stop Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder from sweeping his Suns in the first round of these playoffs. So he started an "Unethical Hoops" campaign with a gambling company that gave $100 to a random entrant every time Gilgeous-Alexander fell down during Friday's game.
The noise then grew louder when tipoff time approached, as Gilgeous-Alexander received heavy boos upon being introduced. And they continued throughout the night, all while the straight-faced superstar stayed unbothered.
"Nah, not really," Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked if he takes the hatred towards him personally. "I expect that from the opposing team. They're not going to like me. They shouldn't. I get it. It's part of the game. They're doing their part in making the game exciting. Watching sports and playing sports my whole life, that's always what it's been. Just because it's me, it's no different.
"I expect that from them, and I honestly like it. It makes the game more interesting, more fun and more exciting, whether they're for or against me."
Gilgeous-Alexander did end up falling a few times on Friday, but his team's shots fell even more.
That was his only concern when OKC found itself in a 15-0 hole to begin the game. He continued to make the right play by passing out of doubles to find his open teammates, even though that resulted in him going scoreless throughout the first quarter. That helped the Thunder find some rhythm and chip away at the early deficit.
Then, Gilgeous-Alexander's shots started to fall. He patiently waited for the right time to strike, whether it was when he got switched off of Castle or when Victor Wembanyama wasn't in position to block his attempts in the paint. And he scored his 26 points during the final three quarters on 6-for-14 shooting from the field (2 for 4 from deep).
"They were super physical early, and they were super heavy in their help early," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. "He was letting the game tell him what to do. I don't think he predetermines that stuff. It was kind of a muddy game at different points for us, and I thought we found some things to get him loose and the rest of the team loose offensively. It wasn't easy. None of these games are, but he's just got a great ability to stay poised and stay present when the game gets muddy. It never knocks him out of it.
"He understands the nature of a playoff game. It's just not going to be an easy 48 minutes for anybody. But he keeps himself in it mentally, and he made huge plays for us throughout the game night."
A muddy game can't bother someone who has already had his name dragged through the mud. Someone who has been subjected to multiple smear campaigns.
Never mind the fact that Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 19.1 drives this postseason, which ranks second only to Portland's Deni Avdija, and those are plays that naturally draw contact. Never mind the fact that every other elite scorer also sells some contact at times.
Or the fact that San Antonio's own head coach, Mitch Johnson, said Gilgeous-Alexander's 12 free-throw attempts on Friday were mostly a result of the way the Spurs defended him rather than the way the officials called the game.
"I think probably half of them were from undisciplined (defense)," Johnson said. "He got us out of position, and he took advantage of it. ... Those 12 free throws helped out a lot, and I can remember at least a few in my head right now that were undisciplined on our end."
The conversations around Gilgeous-Alexander's game won't stop, and neither will the questions.
But he was far more excited to talk about the game itself after OKC's win on Friday. He shared his love for competing alongside his teammates. His love for competing on the big stage against an elite opponent.
It's everything he stands for.
"It's the highest level of competition," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "They're obviously a really good team. They come at you from all different angles. They're very talented and well-coached. They have great personnel and they play together. They really challenge you, and we like to think of ourselves as a team that really challenges you too. It's just two teams that are challenging each other at the highest level of basketball.
"You find out about yourself and your group when you go against the best."
Justin Martinez covers the Thunder and NBA for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @Justintohoops. Sign up for the Thunder Sports Minute newsletter to access more NBA coverage. Support Justin's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Thunder at Spurs
GAME 4 TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Sunday at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio (NBC)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander unbothered by critics, fuels Thunder vs Spurs
What's Your Reaction?
like
0
dislike
0
love
0
funny
0
angry
0
sad
0
wow
0
