This month, the NBA crowned its seventh different champion in seven years—the Oklahoma City Thunder. A thrilling Game 7 win, no super teams in sight, and two small-market franchises battling it out made the 2025 Finals one of the most refreshing in recent memory. Fans tuned in, too, with viewership for the deciding game averaging 16.6 million and peaking at 19.58 million—a massive win for Adam Silver’s league. But not everyone was celebrating. Amid the confetti and glory, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander found himself getting booed, a surprising twist for the newly-minted Finals MVP.

Did you know that it has become a tradition of sorts for the Commissioner of the league to get booed during draft night? David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA from 1984 to 2014, highly encouraged the tradition of trolling from the fans and even replied to them in a joking manner. It was during the NBA Draft in 2013, when Stern said, “We have to explain to our international audience that the boo is an American sign of respect.”

Respect or not, the fans during the 2025 draft made sure to troll Adam Silver and SGA. “At the NBA Draft, the Barclays Center crowd booed when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship and chanted “Free Throw Merchant” when he highlighted Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as Finals MVP.” This tweet was from Ben Golliver, National NBA Writer for the Washington Post.

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Let’s not forget that after missing out on the MVP trophy last season,  Gilgeous-Alexander won it all this season. From regular season MVP, WCF MVP, and even the Finals MVP. During the finals, he averaged 30.3 points, 5.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals, shooting 44.3% from the field. Every game, every quarter, he rose to the moment. Yet, the tag of ‘Free Throw Merchant’ won’t go off easily.

Even ESPN announcer Doris Burke during the West Finals opener said, “There’s a reason NBA Twitter likes to call him the free-throw merchant.” Not many expected this to be called on broadcast.

Will Adam Silver have to intervene to stop SGA’s strategy?

The Athletic reporter Eric Nehm highlighted, Shai can put defenders in precarious positions and generate free throws by intentionally drawing fouls. That’s why he generates a lot of fouls and ends up near the charity strip. Through the moniker, fans suggest that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s dominance has more to do with his knack for drawing fouls than his ability to create, shoot, and/or finish at the rim.

However, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken a high number of free throws in the postseason, his regular-season average of 8.8 attempts per game is actually down from 10.9 last year. Even coach Mark Daigneault revealed, “Hate is the highest of compliments when it comes to the great players. Comes with the territory”. Apparently, SGA, “laughed off the notion”, as the chants of free-throw merchants were high from the opposition fans.

This has brought him success, as we all can see. But will Adam Silver interfere in this matter? Changing rules is part of the decision that the league’s commissioner has to make for the betterment of the NBA. But this, for now, seems farfetched as the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate their MVP and the championship.