A discussion during the 2024-2025 NBA season was what constitutes ethical and unethical hoops. Many deemed ethical hoops were taking midrange shots and finishing through contact. On the other hand, unethical hoops were flopping your way to free throws and points. This led to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being labeled a “free-throw merchant.” Is he one, though? Let’s examine the statistics to determine if Shai lives up to this nickname.
The Biggest Free-Throw Merchant in History
With the KIA NBA MVP award being announced on TNT on Wednesday night, many fans do not want Gilgeous-Alexander to win the esteemed award. They either think it would be a stain on basketball or due to voter fatigue. After all, Nikola Jokic has won three of the last four MVP awards. People don’t want Shai to win because they believe he is a free-throw merchant. Let’s debunk this false rumor.
The Stats
In game one of the Western Conference Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander got the charity stripe 14 times. Eleven of his 31 points in the game came from free throws, which is significant considering he shot the ball 27 times. Is this a common theme for the MVP finalist? It is not. Multiple stats during the regular season and postseason prove that he is not as much of a “free-throw merchant” as people make him out to be.
In the regular season, he averaged 12.4 free throws per 100 possessions. In the postseason, that number decreased to 12 per 100 possessions. You also have to look at everyone else’s percentage of points from free throws. He ranks right beside Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jaren Jackson Jr., who aren’t called free-throw merchants. If the refs are truly on his and Oklahoma City’s side, why are his free throw numbers going down? What about the regular season?
If you remove free throws in the NBA, Shai is still the leading scorer in the league. This shows that even though he does get a decent amount of free throws each game, he doesn’t need them. So the proof is in the pudding, but why is no one eating it? Because of the media.
The Media Hates Him
After the game, multiple media personalities called his game unwatchable. Most notable is Nick Wright. He went on his show, “What’s Wright?” and explained why OKC is so good and why he hates him.
“The dichotomy between how the Thunder guard, which is awesome, plays, a playoff, physical defense – and the way Shai initiates contact and then reacts as if there were a sniper in the crowd and just flails to the ground and time after time gets rewarded for it is utterly maddening.”
It is not just him, as even Doris Burke referred to Shai as “the free-throw merchant” during the game one broadcast. This is a sign that this narrative has gotten out of control when unbiased broadcasters are buying into it. The thing about this is that Shai is not the first superstar to use free throws to his advantage.
Comparing Shai to the Greatest Guards
Shai modeled his game after the great Kobe Bryant, and Bryant modeled his game after the greatest guard of all time, Michael Jordan. So, let’s compare the free-throw numbers of all three players during MVP-caliber seasons.
This season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 8.8 free throws and 32.7 points per game. In the 2006-2007 season, Bryant averaged 10 free throws a night and 31.6 points a game. During Jordan’s first MVP season, he averaged 10.5 free throws and 35 points. In his final MVP season, he averaged 28.7 points and 8.8 free throws each night.
So, all these great guards that Shai modeled his game after averaged the same amount or more free throws. Yet which player gets called a flopper the most? There are clips of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan making defenders fall for a pump fake and then going into contact to get to the line. Shai does the same thing but gets hated for it.
Is Shai a Free-Throw Merchant?
Every player in NBA history embellished contact or flopped at some point. Shai does embellish some hits; there is no doubt about it. Saying that is the only way he can score and that it’s unethical? That is just false. It is time for every NBA fan to open their eyes, see the greatness of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and stop believing everything they see on social media.
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