In a sick twist of fate, it was the OKC crowd’s turn to join in on the latest trend. If you’ve watched enough games this season, you know Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would occasionally be trolled by road crowds with “free-throw merchant” chants.
For those who don’t know, being able to get to the free-throw line has turned into a criticism. Never mind that Gilgeous-Alexander’s whistle was painfully average for a 30-point scorer. It’s the one running joke any basketball fan can harp on against the probable MVP winner.
James Harden introduced the free-throw merchant moniker to the NBA world’s vocabulary when he mastered the art of drawing fouls as one of the best scorers a decade ago. It’s been a nickname other players have donned since then.
The OKC crowd grew frustrated as the referees were overzealous with calls. Nikola Jokic went 10-of-13 on free throws en route to a dominant 42 points and 22 rebounds. After he drew contact on a 3-point attempt to get to the line, Thunder fans chanted “free-throw merchant” multiple times.
Alas, those chants went quiet in the fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook’s fastbreak dime to Aaron Gordon for the 3-pointer served as the game-winner. The Thunder were stunned in their collapse as they suffered a 121-119 Game 1 loss to the Nuggets.
The Joker got the last laugh. He put his squad in the driver’s seat of this Round 2 series. The top-heavy Nuggets have pressured the Thunder to split these two first meetings or face the daunting reality of a 0-2 series deficit before they even go on the road.
“To be honest, I didn’t hear that,” Jokic said on the free-throw merchant chants. “But that’s kinda funny.”
Sure, Jokic. The three-time MVP winner certainly heard the synchronized chant. Regardless, it clearly didn’t rattle him as he turned in one of his best playoff games ever. The Nuggets were due a win or two in this series solely because of him. They checked that off after Game 1.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Nikola Jokic reacts to free-throw merchant chants: ‘Kinda funny’
In a sick twist of fate, it was the OKC crowd’s turn to join in on the latest trend. If you’ve watched enough games this season, you know Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would occasionally be trolled by road crowds with “free-throw merchant” chants.
For those who don’t know, being able to get to the free-throw line has turned into a criticism. Never mind that Gilgeous-Alexander’s whistle was painfully average for a 30-point scorer. It’s the one running joke any basketball fan can harp on against the probable MVP winner.
James Harden introduced the free-throw merchant moniker to the NBA world’s vocabulary when he mastered the art of drawing fouls as one of the best scorers a decade ago. It’s been a nickname other players have donned since then.
The OKC crowd grew frustrated as the referees were overzealous with calls. Nikola Jokic went 10-of-13 on free throws en route to a dominant 42 points and 22 rebounds. After he drew contact on a 3-point attempt to get to the line, Thunder fans chanted “free-throw merchant” multiple times.
Alas, those chants went quiet in the fourth quarter. Russell Westbrook’s fastbreak dime to Aaron Gordon for the 3-pointer served as the game-winner. The Thunder were stunned in their collapse as they suffered a 121-119 Game 1 loss to the Nuggets.
The Joker got the last laugh. He put his squad in the driver’s seat of this Round 2 series. The top-heavy Nuggets have pressured the Thunder to split these two first meetings or face the daunting reality of a 0-2 series deficit before they even go on the road.
“To be honest, I didn’t hear that,” Jokic said on the free-throw merchant chants. “But that’s kinda funny.”
Sure, Jokic. The three-time MVP winner certainly heard the synchronized chant. Regardless, it clearly didn’t rattle him as he turned in one of his best playoff games ever. The Nuggets were due a win or two in this series solely because of him. They checked that off after Game 1.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Nikola Jokic reacts to free-throw merchant chants: ‘Kinda funny’
