Thunder's SGA Says He Doesn't Care About 'Free Throw Merchant' Chants, 'I Never Cared'

Oklahoma City Thunder star and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made it clear Monday night that he is unbothered by being labeled a "free-throw merchant."

Following OKC's 128-126 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday, SGA was asked by reporters about the free-throw merchant label and the fact that T-Wolves fans even chanted it at him during Game 4:

"In terms of the label, I don't care," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I never cared. ... I've shot more free throws in a season than I did this season. I think because we're on top of everybody's radar, it's a little more noticeable and now people care about it. I kind of see it as a compliment."

Gilgeous-Alexander dropped a game-high 40 points to give the Thunder a 3-1 series lead on Monday, making 12 of his 14 free-throw attempts as part of the offensive onslaught.

Due to his impressive ability to draw fouls and get easy points at the charity stripe, Gilgeous-Alexander has drawn the ire of some basketball fans.

That was on full display during Game 4 against the T-Wolves on Monday when thousands of fans at the Target Center chanted, "Free-throw merchant," in unison when SGA was at the line:

The chants didn't seem to impact Gilgeous-Alexander whatsoever, as the MVP was on top of his game during the pivotal postseason matchup.

During the regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander led the NBA with 7.9 free throws made per game, but his 8.8 free-throw attempts per game were second to Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Even after going 12-for-14 from the line on Monday, SGA only ranks third in free throws attempted and made per game during the playoffs as well.

To Gilgeous-Alexander's point, this season was far from his most active one in terms of free throws, as he averaged 9.8 free throws made and 10.9 free throws attempted per game just two years ago.

However, the spotlight is on him now more than ever before since he beat out Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokić in the NBA MVP voting and has his team one win away from the NBA Finals.

On top of that, the Thunder were the NBA's best team for most of the regular season, posting a 68-14 record, which was four games better than the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers and 16 games better than the Houston Rockets, who were second in the Western Conference.

Regardless of how he scores his points, Gilgeous-Alexander gets the job done as the best player on the league's best team.

He won the regular-season scoring title with 32.7 points per game, and his 29.5 points per game during the playoffs are fifth among all players.

With Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, the Thunder are on the verge of their first NBA Finals appearance since 2012, and possibly the first championship in franchise history since the Seattle SuperSonics won it all in 1979.