Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fires back at his critics for his ability to draw fouls originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Oklahoma City Thunder predictably dominated Game 1 of their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder are familiar with the postseason.
During this stage of the season, the game often tightens up. With SGA's playstyle, he often drives into the paint and draws fouls to shoot free throws. Unfortunately, this play style has somehow irked people and made them doubt Shai's talent.
Over the years, more people have started to appreciate Gilgeous-Alexander's game. He loves driving into the paint, but he has also developed his game to become a three-level scorer.
It has been an impressive career, especially since he was traded to the Thunder. He has gone from a promising player to becoming arguably the best in the league. That is mostly due to his ability to dominate on offense, including his natural ability to get into the paint and get a shot off.
MORE: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to sit atop the MVP race
While he already has plenty of accolades and natural ability to score, the cherry on top of that is his ability to get easy points from the charity stripe. Shai is elite and efficient with his scoring, which makes him even harder to guard.
With all of his strengths, SGA continues to receive unwarranted criticism. The reigning MVP and Finals MVP finds it funny at this point because he continues to succeed.
"When you drive the ball a lot, you get fouled a lot just because most of the fouls happen on drives, and I drive the ball a lot. I'm just trying to get better in many aspects over the years I've been in the league," SGA said about the criticism of his ability to draw free throws.
As the Thunder continue to play more games, Shai will continue to play his way. He is an unstoppable player for the most part, and that makes him one of the very best the league has to offer.
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