NBA – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander advantaged? Nico Batum sets the record straight: “It can get on your nerves”

Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif

Crowned MVP of the season a few days ago, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has not dispelled the criticism of his tendency to end up on the free-throw line. Nicolas Batum recently addressed them with a radical opinion.

Being the basketball and big game fan that he is, he must have been in front of his TV screen on Thursday night. If so, Nicolas Batum must have enjoyed the show put on by the Pacers and Thunder in Game 1 of the Finals. Tyrese Haliburton and his team-mates once again pulled off a surprise, despite trailing by nine points with less than three minutes remaining.

As has been the tradition since the start of the playoffs, Indiana managed to close the gap in the final seconds… and win at the buzzer thanks to yet another clutch shot from its star point guard (111-110). On the other side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not disappoint in his first game at this stage of the competition (38 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals) and once again made his presence felt.

Nicolas Batum takes sides in the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander debate

Unsurprisingly, Shai tooks a large number of shoots in this game (14/30). He was therefore quite aggressive with the ball… and obtained eight free throws in the process. It didn’t take much for the debate on his tendency to provoke fouls to resurface on the networks. However, for Batum, this debate would have no place, as he explains in The Young Man and the Three:

Nicolas Batum: That’s BS. Well, for me it is. Shai is just good at provoking fouls. I mean, the other day I was watching the Thunder-Wolves game and my son was like, “That’s not a foul!” I said, “Yes, it is!” But when you’re in his position, it can get on your nerves because he’s close to Rudy Gobert so he wanted Rudy to win.

According to Nico, some fans simply lack discernment and objectivity when it comes to SGA and the fouls he suffers. The discussions surrounding him are nothing new, according to the French winger, who recalls a similar case involving another of the league’s superstars:

Nicolas Batum: Provoking fouls is a real art! The league even had to change the rules because of KD a few years ago, when he kept swinging his arms into those of his defender to get the foul and get to the free-throw line. KD was excellent at this, and he was already at the root of a debate about it 10 or 15 years ago, so whatever.

Unfortunately, it’s not certain that this historical reminder will allow his Canadian counterpart to escape criticism.