Last week, after the OKC Thunder bested the Knicks in a true nail-biter out at Madison Square Garden, New York head coach Mike Brown dished out an all-time, backhanded compliment directed at superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He expressed how good the superstar is at "convincing the referees" he's getting hit.
While many have accused SGA of foul-baiting in the past, a pair of former NBA players did not take kindly to Brown's recent slight.
On a recent episode of the podcast Run It Back, Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons clapped back at the Knicks coach.
"Careful, now, because your starting point guard does the same thing, if not even better at it than SGA is. So tread lightly with asking for less whistles, because that is a huge part of Jalen Brunson's offensive game," Parsons said.
Parsons also explained why the Thunder point guard is able to draw so many fouls, attributing it to his skill of initiating contact. He said this process is usually how elite scorers who excel at getting to the line get so many calls.
Mike Brown's hypocracy is obvious when looking at Brunson's numbers
Jalen Brunson is no stranger to foul-baiting accusations himself.
He was called upon to defend his name earlier this season, when he explained that he merely just "plays by the rules" and only punishes undisciplined defenders.
Brunson's rule-abiding ways have been enough to land him in the top 12 in free throw attempts in his past two full years, including a top-five finish in 2024-25.
This season, his attempts have dipped slightly, as he has taken more threes, and his drives per game have gone from 17.8 to 14.6 per game.
When comparing Brunson and SGA side by side, it's clear that the free-throw disparity doesn't come from a favorable whistle. It stems from a difference in play style.
While Brunson is driving into the paint at an above-average rate, it's not remotely close to Shai's 18.7 drives per game.
To put things into perspective, other ball-dominant, free-throw oficianados like Luka Doncic, James Harden, and Paolo Banchero all average less than 15.0 drives per game.
It's true many love to knock Shai's biased whistle, but the practical explanation for his ability to draw fouls may disappoint: he simply plays closer to the basket.
Shai averages 7.1 attempts to Brunson's 6.0 on field goals less than 10 feet away. On attempts within five feet, the difference is 5.9 to 3.3.
When taking these numbers into account, it's clear that Brunson's free-throw numbers are just as gaudy when other, necessary metrics are taken into account.
Brown's coaching history alone is enough to clear Thunder star's name
Mike Brown is no stranger to getting calls for his star players throughout his tenure.
Before Brunson, Brown was relying on roughly 12 free throws per game between De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento.
In his first stint coaching the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 through 2010, he relied on at least 9.0 free-throw attempts from LeBron James each season, with 10.0 or more in three of them.
Of course, in his lone full season as coach of the Lakers in 2011-12, Kobe Bryant attempted 7.8 free throws per game en route to a Western Conference Semifinals appearance.
Brown has been around the game for decades, and he has had a front seat to witness elite scorers draw fouls more often than other players. Yet, for some reason, he has singled out Gilgeous-Alexander as the lone star who is undeserving of the same treatment.
Given the hypocracies that have been pointed out from his comments, it is likely in Brown's best interest to mince words in the coming weeks -- that is, at least until his Knicks get another crack at SGA and the Thunder later this month.