Thunder GM Responds to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Free-Throw Narrative

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti took the podium to speak with reporters on Monday, discussing a variety of topics about the 2025-26 NBA season.

Preesti was asked about the growing narrative surrounding his back-to-back reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s developed the reputation of a player who hunts for fouls in order to supplement his scoring from the free-throw line.

Presti pushed back against this narrative with a few definitive statements on Monday.

"Of all the things that I’ve talked to Shai about, this is actually one I’ve never talked to him about,” Presti said, via Thunder insider Clemente Almanza.

"He's playing against 6 people. He's got 5 defenders and the 6th defender is social media,” he added. "He drew 415 fouls this year. 11 were challenged."

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Gilgeous-Alexander averaged nine free-throw attempts per game throughout the 2025-26 regular season, trailing only Luka Doncic (10.1) and Deni Advija (9.2). He averaged 9.9 free-throw attempts per game through 15 playoff contests before ultimately falling to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

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Presti hopes this free-throw narrative doesn’t take away from Gilgeous-Alexander’s impact as one of the NBA’s greatest players.

"I just think instead of talking about something that we are looking to find as negative,” Presti said, “can we please also acknowledge that he also does a lot of positive things for the game.”

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 10:21 AM.