Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is threatening legal action over flopping joke

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew 415 fouls during the 2025-26 NBA season, but now he’s crying foul over a joke. Gambling platform Underdog Sports received a cease-and-desist from SGA’s lawyers this week after collaborating with Dillon Brooks of the Phoenix Suns to “release” a parody version of the game ‘Operation’ called ‘Unethical Hoops,’ in which players must navigate around a cartoon version of SGA without fouling him.

The game buzzes if you make contact with SGA, and is adorned with various verbiage about his penchant for theatrics like “phantom contact,” “leg kick,” and “push off.”

The board game is part of a promotion Underdog Sports is running in which users can win one of the 100 copies of the game produced. It’s clearly a marketing joke, but one that SGA’s camp isn’t laughing at. His lawyers claim the use of Shai’s cartoon image violates his Name, Image, and Likeness rights, and demanded that Underdog stop immediately, asking them to:

“permanently cease and desist from any and all use of Mr. Gilgeous-Alexander’s NIL in any and all media, including but not limited to your website (including the Unethical Hoops Website), apps, social media accounts, digital marketing and advertisements, promotional emails, push notifications, affiliate or influencer placements, and any physical goods including but not limited to the board game advertised on the Unethical Hoops Website.”

It’s the softest response imaginable from the MVP’s camp, and reeks far more of sour grapes than legitimate concern that Underdog is co-opting Shai’s NIL for commercial reasons. It does fall in a legal gray area, however. On one hand, it’s clearly parody, and not designed to be taken seriously, nor does Underdog have plans to release this as a commercial product — but it’s also being used for marketing purposes. Had the company stopped at a joke mock-up in the Brooks video, it would have been one thing, but extending it to the 100-copy giveaway could lead to SGA having a case, should things reach that point.

As for Shai’s much-bemoaned playstyle: It is what it is. There is no doubt that SGA is one of the most effective players at getting borderline calls in the league, but he’s also simply playing inside the rules and taking advantage of it. The onus is on the NBA to clamp down on theatrical flopping, not SGA to stop using an effective tool out of the goodness of his heart.

Still, lawyering up over this is pathetic. Shai might want to Google “Streisand Effect,” because that is 100-percent what is happening here. Most people had no idea about ‘Unethical Hoops’ prior to the cease-and-desist — now everyone does. Well done.