The Oklahoma City Thunder were able to get a 114-88 win in Game 1 of their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as usual. He finished with 31 points, nine assists, and five rebounds, which has been around his season average, and the Timberwolves did not have an answer for him.

One area where Gilgeous-Alexander dominated was at the free-throw line, where he went 11-for-14. Some have criticized the way that he's been able to get his points, and Jamal Crawford recently defended the Thunder star on The Pat McAfee Show.

“[SGA] is like a throwback to 5 years ago when everybody was flopping all over the place,” McAfee said. “Should I hate it?”

“You shouldn't,” Crawford said. “If you took out all his free throws, he'd still lead the league in scoring. The refs are actually calling the calls, and it's a narrative out there about it. It's not his fault, he's just playing the game.”

It does seem like sometimes that Gilgeous-Alexander is baiting for foul calls sometimes the way that he may flail on the ground, and if the refs are going to keep calling it, he's not going to stop. On the other hand, the refs have to make sure they call those same fouls for the other team on offense, and it hasn't been that way in Thunder games.

Related Oklahoma City Thunder NewsArticle continues below
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander warms up before game one of the western conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center with Nuggets' Nikola Jokic in the background
Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s bold plan after beating Nikola Jokic for MVP
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Chet Holmgren (7) react after a play in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game one of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s flashy MVP gift for teammates

Nonetheless, how Gilgeous-Alexander gets to the free-throw line shouldn't take away from his overall skill.

Officiating under spotlight in Game 1 of Thunder-Timberwolves

Many people were complaining about all the calls that Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder were getting in Game 1, and Rudy Gobert shared his thoughts on the lack of calls on the other end.

“I don't expect to get calls,” Gobert said. “[The Thunder] are very handsy. There are things that aren't going to get called… They're relentless. We knew that, we know there's grabbing, fouling, but we know that we're not going to get all those calls. We have to play through that consistently. We cannot let the missed calls or missing shots disrupt us from going into the next play and doing what we're supposed to do.”

The Thunder have shown that they are an aggressive team on defense, and sometimes they can get away with things on that side of the ball that other teams can't. That also showed at times in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets, and throughout the series, there were complaints from the players about it.