Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder sit six wins from the Larry O’Brien Trophy and a second consecutive championship, but one Spurs fan came prepared with a different trophy for the Oklahoma City star Sunday.
A woman sitting courtside at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio for Game 4 brought a mini Oscars-esque trophy that said “Best Flopper” on it, according to video and photos.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who has a reputation for alleged flopping and ending up on the court after attempting shots, even fell right in front of the fan during the opening quarter, according to The Athletic.
It marked the latest twist in how Gilgeous-Alexander has been received in San Antonio during Western Conference finals, as he also encountered “flopper” chants in Game 3.
“It does nothing,” Gilgeous-Alexander told ESPN after the Thunder’s Game 3 win.
“Doesn’t fuel me. Doesn’t discourage me. It’s part of the game. It’s nothing. I’ve been dealing with it for a long time. I don’t really hear it.”
Gilgeous-Alexander leads all players in scoring this postseason by averaging 28.1 points-per-game, and he won his second consecutive MVP award May 17 — adding to a campaign where he earned a fourth consecutive All-Star Game appearance and averaged 31.3 points per game during the regular season.
That helped the Thunder earn the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed entering the tournament, but now, with the series going back to Oklahoma City for Game 5, their chances at a repeat title have suddenly become complicated.
The Spurs — behind Victor Wembanyama’s 33 points — crushed the Thunder 103-82 on Sunday in Game 4 to even the series at two games each, with Gilgeous-Alexander finishing with 19 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the field.
He also went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.
“They just punched us in our face early,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters postgame Sunday.
“That’s two games in a row they’ve come out the aggressors. Last game, we were able to course-correct. [Sunday], we just didn’t do so. “
