{"id":3141,"date":"2025-06-04T13:19:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T17:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-epic-clapback-to-free-throw-merchant-taunts\/"},"modified":"2025-06-04T13:20:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T17:20:02","slug":"shai-gilgeous-alexanders-epic-clapback-to-free-throw-merchant-taunts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-epic-clapback-to-free-throw-merchant-taunts\/","title":{"rendered":"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&#8217;s Epic Clapback to &#8216;Free Throw Merchant&#8217; Taunts!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/p>\n<figure style=\"display:none;\"><\/figure>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a stunning 40-point performance, nearly doubling the combined scores of Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a narrow two-point win in Game 4 on Monday night. His remarkable scoring spree included converting 12 out of 14 free throws, a skill that has drawn mocking chants from Timberwolves fans.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>When questioned post-game about the ongoing taunts and his reputation as a frequent visitor to the free-throw line, Gilgeous-Alexander remained unfazed.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<figure style=\"min-height:550px; display:none;\"><\/figure>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Regarding the label, it doesn\u2019t bother me,&#8221; he remarked. &#8220;I&#8217;ve actually taken more free throws in past seasons than this one. It\u2019s just more noticeable now since we\u2019re getting a lot of attention, and suddenly, it matters to people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>He views the criticism as unintentional praise.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>This perspective is logical because ultimately, he is criticized for effectively using a tactic that significantly benefits his team&#8217;s performance. It is not his duty to police the referees&#8217; decisions on whether they are overly lenient when he draws fouls. The term &#8220;free throw merchant&#8221; should be seen as a compliment, reflecting his strategic importance to the game.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The Thunder are poised to possibly conclude the series and advance to the NBA Finals with a victory on Wednesday night. This presents a new opportunity for a different set of fans to try and influence the game with their chants. They will likely find it a challenging task.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"display:none;\">\n<hr>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3>Explore More NBA Insights on Sports Illustrated<\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<figure style=\"display:none;\"><\/figure>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"schema_org_data":"","_extracted_celebrities":"","_extracted_movies":"","_extracted_places":"","_extracted_videos":"","_last_enrichment_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&#039;s Epic Clapback to &#039;Free Throw Merchant&#039; Taunts!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-epic-clapback-to-free-throw-merchant-taunts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&#039;s Epic Clapback to &#039;Free Throw Merchant&#039; Taunts!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-epic-clapback-to-free-throw-merchant-taunts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Red94\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-04T17:19:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-04T17:20:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Shai-Gilgeous-Alexanders-Epic-Clapback-to-Free-Throw-Merchant-Taunts.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-epic-clapback-to-free-throw-merchant-taunts\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/shai-gilgeous-alexanders-epic-clapback-to-free-throw-merchant-taunts\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mike\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/82784493c2386321eca1931994300a93\"},\"headline\":\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&#8217;s Epic Clapback to &#8216;Free Throw Merchant&#8217; 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