Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the ‘free-throw merchant’ debate: Why it’s out of control

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Some kids from the neighborhood were shooting hoops in my driveway the other day, so I asked them, “Who’s your favorite player?” One said LaMelo Ball. (His highlights speak to the youth. Apparently they do not show the bad shot selection on YouTube.) Another said Jayson Tatum. (This is the Boston area.)

“What about Stephen Curry?” I asked.

“Yeah,” they all said.

“And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?”

“He’s a free-throw merchant,” one kid said, probably repeating something he had seen on social media.

This issue has reached the children, people. The children! It is a problem that needs solving, so we did.

(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

Urban Dictionary defines a “free-throw merchant” as “a basketball player who relies entirely on free throws to score. Known for running into defenders before falling down and begging for foul calls.” The actual definition is probably a little softer. A free-throw merchant games the game, baiting defenders into contact and, more importantly, officials into blowing a whistle when the contact was his own doing.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s 606 free-throw attempts this season lead the league. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo (600) is within 99 free throws of Gilgeous-Alexander. James Harden (507) is third.

A week ago, this play was stirring what has really been an ongoing conversation over the past several weeks, as Gilgeous-Alexander inches closer to what betting lines are suggesting will be his first MVP:

Late in a five-point game between Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder and the Detroit Pistons, he deftly used his left hand to pull the defender, Ausar Thompson, into his body, eliciting a shooting foul in the waning seconds of the shot clock. Originally whistled a defensive foul, the call was overturned and changed to an offensive foul upon review, as referees discovered Gilgeous-Alexander had fooled them.

So we decided to review every challenged call against the Thunder this season, just to see if this was a trend. Not only that, but we reexamined every one of Gilgeous-Alexander’s drives in late-game clutch situations, when the score was within five points in the final two minutes or…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/shai-gilgeous-alexander-and-the-free-throw-merchant-debate-why-its-out-of-control-144654562.html

Author : Ben Rohrbach

Publish date : 2025-03-24 14:46:00

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