In society, there are some questions you should never ask. Specifically, never ask an NBA fan who thinks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a free-throw merchant how many free throws Michael Jordan shot. Spoiler alert, it was almost exactly as many as Shai shoots. Sure, rules have changed in the 30-ish years between their primes, but the idea that SGA has somehow broken basketball because he draws a lot of fouls is, and always has been, outrageous.
Shai seems to know this, too. On a recent episode of The Hoop Collective, ESPN reporter Tim MacMahon gave some insight into Shai's mindset on the criticism he receives for his perceived "foul baiting," and it sounds like he cares about as much as Thunder fans. Which is to say, not very much:
"I've asked Shai about this. He kind of shrugs and says, 'That's a conversation that's out of my control, I'm not worried about it,' and he'll tell you, 'The players that I grew up watching and loving and studying were great at getting to the foul line.' Michael Jordan was great at getting to the foul line. The best scorers over the history of the league have all been great at getting to the foul line..."
Say it louder for the people who refuse to log on to Basketball Reference because they're scared of what they'll find. Shai harkening back to the NBA's past — which many of the people who disparage him are so nostalgic for — and reminding folks that, actually, the players who folks swear played ethical basketball shot a lot of free throws, too.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander uses the rules to his advantage
This is the part that's always been so silly to me. Sure, if Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in 2005, he would probably be called for lots of offensive fouls. Twenty years ago, the criteria for what was considered a "push-off" was much stricter than it is nearly 20 years later. A lot of the subtleties of Shai's game were considered against the rules, so yes, of course I'll admit that he's using the rules to his advantage.
Isn't that what players are supposed to do?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is producing perhaps the best NBA season from a guard since the aforementioned Michael Jordan. In 1988-89, the year after MJ's first MVP award, he shot 9.8 free-throws per game. In 2025-26, after SGA's first MVP award, he's shooting 9.4 free-throws per game. Just saying.
I don't want this to sound like I'm comparing Shai to MJ, because I'm not doing that. But I do think it's important to add some historical context to the endless criticism Shai gets for being really good at a skill that's always been important in the NBA. Shai himself seems to understand that well.