ESPN Commentator Joins Fans to Flame NBA over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Foul Baiting

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led his Thunder team to win Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

ESPN Commentator Joins Fans to Flame NBA over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Foul Baiting

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received some dumbfounding foul calls (Image via FirstSportz)

The Western Conference Finals started today, and basketball fans were excited to watch the battle between the two young stars, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards. Their respective teams knew they had to get an early lead to keep the other at bay.

The Timberwolves understood the task and took a near double-digit lead before halftime. Anthony Edwards again suffered an ankle injury and had to leave the court for a while. But when he came back out, it was too late as the home team blitzed them and took a commanding lead.

Try as they might, the Timberwolves could not close the gap, and the Thunder stepped on the gas and finished the rout, 114-88. The 26-point differential might be something for the home fans to cheer about. But there were some growing concerns right from the first quarter that left many fuming.

Early in the game, it became evident that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was easily getting to the free-throw line. While commentating the game for ESPN, renowned analyst Doris Burke said this after realizing SGA had already shot seven free throws within the first five minutes of the game:

There’s a reason NBA Twitter likes to call him the free-throw merchant.

Doris Burke said to Mike Breen

Burke said this to legendary play caller Mike Breen, something usually the league does not want to hear. Officiating problems against SGA have been pointed out quite a few times. Head coaches have termed the MVP front-runner ‘untouchable’. As the game progressed, it became evident that in this game, the Canadian was indeed becoming untouchable.

Fans slam NBA for allowing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to foul bait

By the end of the night, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander attempted seven more free throws. He converted 11 of them, which means they made up 35% of his total points. On many occasions, fans were dumbfounded at some of the calls that went his way.

Replays of those clips shared by the league and its networks show that no one touched SGA. Fans believe either the officials got it wrong or the league is aiding the superstar to win this series. Either way, they were not happy with the lopsided officiating and took to social media to slam the league. Check out examples of those reactions below.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has in the past talked about how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets a lot of foul calls. He made it clear that the officials need to understand the difference between a clear foul and a bait, which SGA is clever at drawing.

This time, Finch was keeping an eye on the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 14 free throws, but he could have received more had Finch not thrown the challenge flag. A few of those were overturned, which means officials understood, on reviewing, that those fouls were not to be called.

Anthony Edwards and Wolves need to use this as motivation

The Oklahoma City Thunder won this game after finishing off the Denver Nuggets just a day and a half ago. That means they had just one full day of rest. The Minnesota Timberwolves, on the other hand, had nearly six days off.

Wolves have to come back and beat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder in Game 2 to stand a chance
Wolves have to come back and beat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder in Game 2 to stand a chance (Image via BMTS/X)

To lose this badly despite the rest should be a wake-up call for Anthony Edwards and his teammates. They lost their drive in the second half and could not catch up. If they are to take the next step as many want them to, they have to use this game’s deficit and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s antics to drive them.

They have to light that fire inside them and win Game 2. Only then can they return home with both the winning momentum, as well as opportunity to get ahead. The series will not be easy, therefore, they cannot slack off the way they did tonight.

Also Read: