"Nightmare for Shaisis" - NBA fans react to glaring free throw disparity between Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

NBA fans reacted to the free throw disparity between Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander through three NBA Finals games. After Game 3, Haliburton had zero free throws, compared to SGA's 26, the highest (12) coming in the OKC Thunder's Game 2 win.

Unlike SGA, Haliburton isn't known for scoring through driving to the basket. However, 26 vs. zero certainly makes big enough news to cause surprise among fans. A post by Legion Hoops on X on Thursday alluded to Tyrese Haliburton's zero free-throw attempts following the Indiana Pacers' Game 3 win to take a 2-1 series lead.

Some fans took a direct shot against SGA's overwhelming free throws.

"Nightmare for shaisis," a fan said.

Divyansh

@DforDvnsh_

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Nightmare for shaisis

"Let me guess Shai has 60 already," the fan wrote.

Dubs

@LockedinDubs

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Let me guess shai has 60 already

In Game 1 and Game 3 losses, Gilgeous-Alexander shot less than 10 free throws.

"Confirms Shai needs at least 10 FTs a game for the Thunder to win."

Pyrrhuloxia

@pyrrhuloxia93

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Confirms Shai needs at least 10 FTs a game for the Thunder to win

A fan reasoned behind the stat, saying the Pacers star plays a different game than the OKC Thunder star.

"There’s a reason he’s always high in assists," the fan wrote.

Bree

@SoBryni

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There’s a reason he’s always high in assists

"People gonna use this narrative and be like oh it’s 0-26 free throws between Hali and SGA but then ignore other factors like amount of drives between them."

Stragic

@Demontics22

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People gonna use this narrative and be like oh it’s 0-26 free throws between Hali and sga but then ignore other factors like amount of drives between them

Some fans called out Thunder fans for complaining.

"and OKC fans have the audacity to complain about the refs 💀."

Celtics Lead

@CelticsLead

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and OKC fans have the audacity to complain about the refs 💀

Meanwhile, some fans wanted Tyrese Haliburton to win the NBA title just in light of the free throw stat.

"Ethical hoops. Deserves to win the chip."

#TeamHuman

@CentristBeard

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Ethical hoops. Deserves to win the chip

Tyrese Haliburton calls out "talking heads" in media, gets a response from Stephen A. Smith

If Tyrese Haliburton wins a title this year, he will have the last word in every narrative that surrounds him, both from players and the media. After the Game 3 win, the Indiana Pacers star was already calling the critics in the media who doubted him and the Pacers.

"The commentary is always going to be what it is," Haliburton said. "Most of the time, the talking heads on the major platforms, I couldn't care less, honestly. What do they really know about basketball?

The Pacers star also specifically called out ESPN:

"At a time like this, I'm not really on social media as much. I try to stay off it as much as I can. But you see it. ESPN might be on in my house, and there it is. ... The commentary is what it is at this point. We're in the NBA Finals, two wins away from an NBA championship."

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reacted to the comment from Tyrese Haliburton and tried to deflect the blame on NBA players, both from the present and the past.

"You see how slick these dudes get?" Smith said. "They try to point to the media. No! It's your colleagues, it's your contemporaries, present and former, who were questioning you."

"Just in case he was talking about me... players far more accomplished and far more superior have made their efforts trying to call me out. How has that worked out?"

Smith had previously refused to give Tyrese Haliburton the "superstar" status. In April, Haliburton was voted by anonymous NBA players as the most overrated star.