Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is entering his ninth season and says he's better than he's ever been, ahead of the upcoming season. With a deep 2026-27 Thunder roster poised to compete for another championship, Gilgeous-Alexander didn't hesitate to address the ‘foul merchant' moniker once again, a narrative that still follows him despite back-to-back MVP awards.
Gilgeous-Alexander addressed the criticism in a cover story, per Time.
“Playing this game has done amazing things for my and my family’s life,” Gilgeous-Alexander says. “And if a narrative on social media is the worst that comes from this game for me, well, I’d take that a million times out of a million times.”
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains unfazed by the hate. He still sees himself as the best player in the NBA. And while some will point to the amount of times he falls during a game as a means to drawing a foul, Gilgeous-Alexander set the record straight in his interview with Time.
Article Continues Below“Sometimes I’m leaning so much and fading away so much that it’s easier for me to fall than to try to stick a landing or risk landing on someone,” he says. “It’s just natural. Your body’s in a way in the air that if you try to stick the landing, it’s unnatural. If I’m this way and my knee will have to go the other way, you’re compromising your body.”
In a 128-126 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting, including 3-for-3 from deep, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, five assists, three rebounds, and one block in 17 minutes of his preseason debut.