Directly following their NBA Championship run, the OKC Thunder have come out of the gates to the 2025-26 campaign blisteringly hot. Needless to say, so, too, has their superstar, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Yet, despite their undefeated 3-0 record and the reigning MVP's elite plus-minus rating of +9.3, all anyone can seemingly talk about is his free-throw activity.
Thunder star's free throw frequency is blown out of proportion yet again
Admittedly, a frequent visitor to the charity stripe, the Thunder cornerstone has ranked in the top two in foul shots attempted in each of the last two seasons and, as a result, has garnered the reputation of being a "free throw merchant," someone who's believed to be heavily reliant on generating point totals off favorable calls from the refs.