Oklahoma City Thunder point guard and back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a flopper. That’s a fact, just as the sky is blue.
Doris Burke has called him a “free throw merchant” on a broadcast, ESPN’s Jay Williams is going viral ahead of Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder for saying there’s “too much foul-baiting” when he watches the Thunder. Online discourse is littered with disgust in the way SGA manipulates the system that refuses to hold him accountable for it, but no one has highlighted SGA’s flopping as humorously as NBA bad boy and Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks.
In partnership with Underdog, a popular daily fantasy sports (DFS) and pick’em betting platform, Brooks revealed a one-of-a-kind board game poking fun at SGA. The game is a knock-off of the classic, popular game called “Operation” where players use tweezers to extract silly, plastic “ailments” like a “cranky knee” or “headphone headache” from a patient nicknamed Cavity Sam. The goal is to remove the pieces without touching the metal edges, which triggers a buzzer and a flashing red nose. This time, Brooks, who introduced himself in the promotional video as “The Villain”, showcased the game titled “Unethical Hoops,” which featured an SGA lookalike cartoon basketball player with a subtitle that states, “Don’t get baited. Steal the ball without getting whistled.”
The ball is placed by different parts of SGA’s body with clever nicknames such as, “Head Snap” obviously by his head trolling the fact that he whips his head around defenders to draw fouls, “Hook and Cook” by his ball dominated arm, “Phantom Contact” on his right leg, and more.
FLOPPING IS RUINING THE NBA AND LEBRON SHOULD TAKE SOME BLAME FOR THAT
Brooks, whether you like him or not, and I’m guessing most of you are not fond of the man, plays the villain role well. He knows his role and his reputation. He leans into it by doing things such as sitting on the baseline of Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder just to see LeBron James and the Lakers get swept. Plus, this move by Brooks is extra bold when you realize that these two players are on the Canadian National Team together.
As for SGA’s flopping, Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh did a deep dive into “every shot Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken this postseason and tracked how often he fell,” in his recent article titled, “every shot Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken this postseason and tracked how often he fell.” His research, in response to a viral video of SGA in Game 2 of the WCF, was just what you’d expect. No one falls in this year’s playoffs on non-fouled, fouled and all shots combined than SGA. He falls over 17% of the time on all shots and over 51% on called foul shots, which is drastically more than his fellow foul-baiter of the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden.
“Unethical Hoops” is a part of an Underdog promotion where users can enter for a chance to win through their app. The promotional website UnethicalHoops.com states that only 100 games are made, which makes this a highly sought-after collector’s item. The winners of the giveaway will be announced May 29.
The Thunder and MVP Gilgeous-Alexander take on the Spurs Friday night for Game 3 in San Antonio with the series locked at 1-1.
