Over the past several years, Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has become one of the more regular residents at the charity stripe.
To some, his ability to draw fouls and head to the line is viewed as an art form. To others, it's become somewhat of an unfair cheat code.
However, despite the inarguable fact that he's turned into a master at initiating contact and, in turn, earning favorable whistles, Gilgeous-Alexander is far from the most frequent visitor to the free-throw line.
In fact, as the numbers show, he's not even leading the league in visits by way of any measurement.
Thunder star trails in every angle when discussing free throw attempts
Frankly, the case against the Thunder cornerstone being in a league of his own when it comes to depending on free-throw activity goes well beyond the sheer fact that he's not even the leader in attempts per game (trails both Lakers star Luka Doncic and Bucks all-world talent Giannis Antetokounmpo) or attempts in total this season (trails Blazers forward Deni Avdija).
No matter how one spins it, be it per 100 possessions, per 48 minutes, or any other metric, the stats clearly show that Gilgeous-Alexander is not the one-of-a-kind foul line abuser that so many pundits and keyboard warriors paint him as.
Not only does he not lead the league in any free-throw attempt metric, but, on many occasions, he resides outside of the top five.
Heck, even with how frequently he bee lines it to the rack (second with a total of 435), SGA still only manages to tie for fifth in free throws per game off of drives with Clippers guard James Harden.
Through 25 games played in 2025-26, the reigning scoring champion finds himself in a prime position to potentially repeat with such an accolade, as his averages of 32.4 points per game are currently just 2.3 points behind Doncic for the top spot in the association.
In total, however, he leads all players with a whopping 811 points, only 214 of which have come from the foul line.
Of course, to put things into perspective, this only equates to 26.4 percent of his total points; meanwhile, Doncic's 189 free throws account for 28.7 percent of his total points, while Avdija's 203 accounts for a ridiculous 30.1 percent.
Based on the numbers, it's more than apparent that these constant criticisms of Gilgeous-Alexander being a "free-throw merchant" have been blown way out of proportion.