The foul-baiting chatter around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander never really goes away, even with the NBA still months removed from the last time the Thunder played a game. But if you want the cleanest rebuttal to all that noise, it might have come from the best possible source: his father.
In a now-viral clip of Vaughn Alexander on the hardwood while running drills with streamer "N3on," he was asked how a player draws fouls. His answer landed with a bluntness that cuts straight through the usual complaints: "We don't try to draw fouls. We beat our man, and because we beat you, you foul us."
That line fits the way Gilgeous-Alexander is viewed around the league. He’s one of the toughest guards to handle possession after possession, and defenders know it.
Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, a highly respected defender, has said Gilgeous-Alexander has one of the deepest bags and called him the hardest player he's ever had to guard. Marcus Smart, a former Defensive Player of the Year, has also praised the Thunder star’s three-level scoring.
Even if you strip away the free throws, the case for Gilgeous-Alexander barely changes. Kalshi Hoops recently found that he has scored the most points in the NBA over the last three seasons without counting foul-line points.
So while the complaints keep coming, the larger picture is hard to miss. The Thunder star has built a reputation as one of the league’s most dangerous scorers, and the people trying to stop him seem to be the ones paying the price.
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The list also included a nod to Luka Doncics defense as part of Alexanders thinking, which only sharpened the discussion around how these stars should be weighed against one another. It is, of course, just Alexanders opinion and not any kind of official evaluation from the players or their teams, but when a proud father starts ordering up the leagues best guards, it tends to get people talking. [Read more 🡒]
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For a Thunder team that has long valued Dorts physical edge and point-of-attack presence, the shift carried real weight. His season forced Oklahoma City to confront an uncomfortable roster reality: even a player who had been part of the program for years could become expendable if the performance curve kept bending down. And with Dort now headed to Atlanta in a salary dump, the ending only underscores how abruptly those decisions can arrive once the fit no longer holds. [Read more 🡒]