A new film review has added another layer to the debate around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s frequent trips to the floor on playoff shot attempts. Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh examined missed-call possessions in this postseason and compared the Oklahoma City Thunder guard with several other high-usage foul drawers, including Victor Wembanyama, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson.
The numbers put Gilgeous-Alexander at the top in several categories. On field-goal attempts without a foul called, he fell down 20 times on 187 shots, a rate of 10.7 percent, which was the highest among the five players tracked.
How SGA compares on no-call attempts
Haberstroh’s review showed Harden next at 8.7 percent, followed by Brunson at 7.9 percent and Mitchell at 7.6 percent. Wembanyama finished far lower at 0.6 percent, with just one fall on 164 field-goal attempts.
The gap widened when looking only at plays that ended with a foul. Gilgeous-Alexander fell down on 19 of 37 such attempts, or 51.4 percent, while none of the other four players crossed 30 percent.
Harden ranked second in that group at 12 of 41, and Wembanyama rose to 25.0 percent with seven falls on 28 foul calls. Those figures suggest that Gilgeous-Alexander’s contact-heavy style produces more plays where he winds up on the court, whether a whistle comes or not.
Volume matters, but the rate still stands out
Mitchell had the most total falls on no-call shots with 26, but he did so on nearly twice as many field-goal attempts as Gilgeous-Alexander, 342 to 187. That context matters because it shows the Thunder star’s rate remains notable even without the highest shot volume.
Across all shot attempts tracked, Gilgeous-Alexander hit the floor 39 times on 224 shots, or 17.4 percent. Harden followed at 11.9 percent, Brunson at 9.0 percent, Mitchell at 8.4 percent and Wembanyama at 4.2 percent.
Why the numbers do not automatically mean flopping
Haberstroh was careful not to frame the findings as a flopping accusation. He noted that Gilgeous-Alexander’s game naturally invites contact because he attacks the paint and has built a strong scoring profile from the mid-range area.
That style also helps explain his free-throw profile. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 9.8 free-throw attempts per game in these playoffs, which ranks second behind Orlando’s Paolo Banchero at 10.6.
He also finished third in free-throw attempts per game during the regular season, trailing only Luka Dončić and Deni Avdija. Among the five players tracked in Haberstroh’s review, Mitchell is the only one who does not rank inside the top 20 in free-throw attempts per game in these playoffs.
The film study does not settle the broader debate over officiating or playing style, but it does show that Gilgeous-Alexander lands on the floor more often than his peers in the specific situations Haberstroh tracked, especially when a shot attempt ends without a foul call.
Read more at: bleacherreport.com
