Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a push-off during Tuesday's 114-112 overtime win against the Indiana Pacers. While there's been an emphasis on off-ball play for Gilgeous-Alexander during the preseason, the NBA is emphasizing its officials to call push-offs across the league. Gilgeous-Alexander has been widely criticized for getting away with the offensive move over the years, as a means to create space for his jumpshot.
Gilgeous-Alexander earned his first offensive foul on the move for the first time during the Thunder's preseason. However, NBA fans aren't celebrating quite yet, suggesting that the two-time MVP will most likely get a pass once the regular season starts, per NBA Reddit.
Ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder's bounce back losing Game 7 to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, NBA fans will be keeping a close eye on SGA's offensive execution. Despite winning the MVP award in back-to-back seasons, he hasn't been able to escape the “foul merchant” label, coupled with his push-off claims as means to leading the league in scoring.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting, six assists, one steal, and one block in 23 minutes against the Pacers on Tuesday.
Mark Daigneault reacts to NBA officials visiting Thunder training camp
NBA referees visited Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder's training camp ahead of the 2026-27 season. With the league emphasizing the push-off move as an offensive foul this upcoming season, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reacted to the visit during the preseason.
Article Continues Below“It's less about the new rules. It's more about it professionalizes the segment of practice that they're covering, they're going to manage,” Daigneault said. “If you tell them to manage like a game, it's going to feel like a game. We try to take advantage of that. It just gives us some exposure to that type of environment before we actually get into it in the preseason game.”
The Thunder will finish its preseason play on the road against the Rockets on Thursday.