Oklahoma City Thunder superstar point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gave a hilarious reaction to a wild chant from Minnesota Timberwolves fans. The Thunder had a surprising 116-101 loss to their Western Conference foe in a game they struggled from the field. This clash had a few eye-opening moments, such as Anthony Edwards' poster dunk on Chet Holmgren.

Shai, however, had a viral moment of his own when he was at the free-throw line against Minnesota. And the three-time All-Star heard exactly what the Timberwolves fans were yelling at him.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is different from the “free throw merchants” of the past

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the third quarter at Target Center.
Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Imag

This accusation has been thrown out by SGA ever since he made a superstar-level jump. Gilgeous-Alexander has indeed been in the top three at getting to the line over the past three years. However, there are many cases of players who shoot a lot of free throws who consequently see their production dip in the postseason.

With more physicality being allowed and fewer fouls being called, even former MVPs like James Harden and Joel Embiid have been given the “free throw merchant” label and struggled in the playoffs. Shai, on the other hand, whether he's getting to the line or not, is Mr. Reliable as a first option during this time of the year.

Last postseason, the former Kentucky Wildcat averaged 30.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game in the postseason. And in the Thunder's elimination against the Dallas Mavericks, Shai's stats were even higher during this series. Gilgeous-Alexander is now having the best season of his career so far. And OKC's leader now has a slight edge on Nikola Jokic in the MVP race.

Oklahoma City has had a terrific season heading into the All-Star break. Despite the loss on Thursday, the Thunder are in firm control of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. OKC is 44-10 overall and eight games in front of the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.

This team has built this lead with Chet Holmgren out for most of this season with a pelvic fracture. Chet is now back and slowly getting into a rhythm with his teammates again. Despite adding some more experience over the offseason, Thunder are still the youngest roster in the NBA. However, that fact does not mean that this year's squad isn't in championship-or-bust mode.

Fortunately, it's clear that OKC has the right star to take this next step. While Shai overall struggled tonight, his response to those chants at the free-throw line says all fans need to know about the 26-year-old superstar. The bigger the moment, the more dangerous SGA becomes. And that's a concerning reality for the rest of the NBA against a team starting to figure out how great it really is.