Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been dubbed the “free-throw merchant” for his propensity to get to the foul line. Yet, Luka Doncic led the NBA in free-throw attempts (10.1) this past regular season, while the Los Angeles Lakers were second overall (26.8) among all teams.
Meanwhile, SGA ranked fourth in FTA (9.0), attempting 1.1 fewer shots at the charity stripe than Doncic, and the Thunder ranked 17th (23.2) in the league.
For context, the Lakers have been top-3 in FTA in each of the last four seasons and led the league in 2022-23. The Thunder have never finished top-10 in FTA in the SGA era, and ranked No. 26 during his first MVP season last year.
SGA Calls Out Lakers Fans
After sweeping the Lakers this week, SGA mocked Lakers fans for constantly complaining about him hunting for free throws, while ignoring Doncic, LeBron James and the Lakers for doing the same.
“It’s fun to me,” he told ESPN’s Tim Keown of Lakers fans viewing him as “a villain.”
“The way I see it, the fans, the people that watched the games and root against us, they want their team to win. You will never hear an Oklahoma City Thunder fan complaining about my free throws. You will never hear a Lakers fan complaining about LeBron or Luka’s free throws.”
“I get it, guys,” he added. “I would hate me, too.”
What Next for Lakers?
The Lakers’ hopes of hanging Banner No. 18 are quickly fading, given the ascension of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder and Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs — two teams built to dominate for at least five more years.
Many analysts feel the Lakers may have to pair Luka Doncic with a legitimate co-star like Giannis Antetokounmpo to give themselves a realistic chance. Doing that will be easier said than done, given their lack of attractive assets and draft capital.
“The Lakers’ financial flexibility depends solely on their own free agents,” ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks wrote of the Lakers.
“In the scenario every free agent on the roster besides Reaves is renounced — that list includes James — the Lakers could have up to $47 million in cap room. If Reaves is not brought back, that number increases to $67 million. Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Smart have until June 29 to opt in to their contracts next season.
“The Lakers will have the $9.4 million room midlevel exception if they are a cap space team. If the Lakers act as a team over the cap, meaning they bring back only their own free agents, they will have the $15 million non-tax midlevel exception available.”
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