Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his Thunder squad have earned plenty of infamy for their highly physical play. As OKC took on the Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of their first-round series, SGA once again drew flak for a sequence that was painful to watch.
In the opening minute of the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander was met by Suns defender Collin Gillespie as he tried to bring the ball past halfcourt. In his effort to elude Gillespie, SGA swung his arm out, and his elbow appeared to collide with Gillespie’s face. The referee went on to make an initial call of a defensive foul on the Suns guard.
On social media, fans exploded at this unpleasant scene involving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“SGA must have some dirt on these refs. this is some next level d*** riding the past few seasons lmaooo”
“Devin Booker took a fine for nothing to change. There’s been at least 5 other coaches who crashed out or got techs over this. OKC games are horrible to watch. Worst championship team.”
“Can’t watch OKC games”
“That’s why I’m not watching this game… I would lose my mind”
“The ref was ready to call for sga whatever happens”
“Disgusting double standard as usual”
Suns head coach Jordan Ott went on to challenge the defensive foul on Gillespie, and upon review of the play, the referees decided to overturn the call and whistle SGA for an offensive foul instead.
In the grand scheme of things, this sequence did not quite matter as the Thunder were in the driver’s seat for much of the game. OKC went on to win 121-109 to take a 3-0 lead in this series.
“I’m Him!”: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Hypes Himself Up During Game 3 of Thunder-Suns Series
As talented as he is, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t often hype himself up, often choosing to deflect credit to his teammates. At one point in Game 3, however, the reigning MVP couldn’t help himself.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, SGA had a celebratory moment after making yet another tough basket.
“‘I’m him!’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appeared to shout to the OKC bench during the timeout after a tough finish in transition. Hard to argue his point – he’s scored 32 on 13-16 FG so far today,” MacMahon tweeted.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 42 points on 15-for-18 shooting from the field as OKC pushed Phoenix to the brink of elimination.
