A Shai Giljus-Alexander masterclass against the Hawks
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has risen to become one of the NBA’s biggest stars, but along with his rise to stardom has come the label he’s been given as a ‘free throw merchant’. Fans on social media have given that designation to SGA because of his ability to draw free throws. But during the Thunder’s 117-100 win against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, SGA showed he doesn’t need free throws to be an effective NBA shooter.
In the Thunder’s win against the Hawks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field while making just four free throws all game. He also didn’t play the entire fourth quarter, and his free throws fell from and-one or when the Thunder were in the bonus.
The free throw merchant tag has never had any impact on Shai, and with the exception of the 2022-23 season, he has always averaged double figures in free throw attempts.
The noise was loud during the Thunder’s first two games of the regular season. Against the Houston Rockets on opening night, Gilgeous-Alexander hit 14 free throws on his way to 35 points. He followed it with a record 55 points against the Indiana Pacers in the rematch of the NBA Finals and in that game he made 26 free throws.
With the first two games of the season skewing his average higher, Gilgeous-Alexander is currently averaging 14.7 free throw attempts per game. It’s likely that as the season progresses, that average will drop closer to his career mark of seven to eight attempts per game. In other words, nothing earth-shattering.
Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off his first MVP award as well as his first NBA championship. The way the Thunder have looked so far early in the season, he is probably the favorite to win the MVP this year, and the Thunder look like the favorite to repeat as champions.
Last season, SGA appeared in 76 games for the Thunder, averaging just over 34 minutes per game. He averaged a league-leading and career-high 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.7 steals on 51.9 percent shooting from the field, 37.5 percent from the three-point line and 89.8 percent from the free throw line.
2025-10-26 16:48:00
