John Wall had a theory about foul-baiting NBA stars. The former Washington Wizards point guard, who played the game with speed and force rather than shiftiness and guile, thought the playoffs were kryptonite for basketball’s most controversial manipulators.
Once, after a postseason practice in Toronto, Wall broke it down for me. Playoff intensity dictates more leniency for physical defense. Fans watch the games more closely, so antics accepted as ordinary during the regular season become emotion-fueled storylines. Gamesmanship, from coaches and players when speaking with the media, increases pressure on the referees, resulting in a level of overcorrection that’s only human. And in clutch situations, NBA history shows an officiating tradition of letting the players decide the ending.
“So you better be able to get yours,” Wall said. “No asking. You just take it, or people talk about how you failed.”
For the most part, Wall’s beliefs hold up. The playoffs are usually a reckoning for foul merchants. No one suffered more disappointment than James Harden, the 2017-18 MVP and a three-time scoring champion who once led the league in free throw attempts seven times in an eight-year span. For all the offensive genius and foul-hunting deception of his prime, Harden failed to carry the Houston Rockets past the Western Conference finals. His repeated playoff disappearing acts sullied his reputation so much that it’s now hard to fully appreciate him. Many can’t see past his polarizing style of play. He’s just a whistle-swindling oddity who keeps getting his postseason comeuppance.
Now 35, Harden is a graying foul merchant. But the tradition continues, and the new generation might take this chess game to greater heights, disproving Wall’s hypothesis. With MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander commanding the Oklahoma City Thunder, there’s renewed reason to be annoyed. If Jalen Brunson can guide the New York Knicks to the championship round, a potential SGA-Brunson NBA Finals matchup will be one made in point guard heaven — and free-throw-parading hell. Each ranked among the league’s top five in free throw attempts this season.
Look closer, and seven guards are in the top 10 of that category. Ten years ago, there were four guards. Thirty years ago, before true centers and post-ups became extinct, no guard ranked higher than 15th in trips to the foul line — and that was Penny Hardaway, an oversized 6-foot-7 maestro with a forward’s height.
In that one statistic, you can trace the sport’s evolution from a rigid, inside-out game controlled by skilled big men to a free-flowing, fast-paced game in which perimeter players dominate the ball and exploit rule changes that allow athletes to move freely without excessive contact.
Debating foul calls is a tradition as old as the pregame layup line. But back in the day, there wasn’t such an intense, automatic assumption that players were fooling the refs. The game was physical, and fouls were felt as much as they were seen. For certain, there was annoyance about stars getting calls. But for as much as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went to the line, there were ample examples of them absorbing punishment without hearing a whistle. Getting open off the ball was a chore. Because of hand-checking, driving to the basket wasn’t simply a matter of superior quickness. But as the athletes got bigger and more athletic, that level of physicality made the game difficult to watch.
Today, defenders are still being penalized for the sins of past bruisers. The “game has gotten too soft” crowd is constantly on edge. In the middle of it all, Gilgeous-Alexander and Brunson lead a handful of cunning, absurdly dexterous stars who have hacked the system for their benefit.
As the MVP, Gilgeous-Alexander is the subject of the most ire, with some exasperated fans altering his initials to “SGFTA” to emphasize his free throw attempts. In the first two games of the Western Conference finals, he shot 29 free throws. His primary defender, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels, played less than 24 minutes in Game 1 before fouling out. The Thunder grabbed a quick 2-0 series lead.
“He’ll use his arms to tangle in yours, and my arms are so long, it’s like they are getting caught places I don’t even want them to be,” the 6-foot-9 McDaniels said of the 6-6 Gilgeous-Alexander.
Former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone is serving as a guest analyst for ESPN in these playoffs. Known as one of basketball’s strongest defensive minds, Malone explained the difficulty of limiting Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s not a great player because he lives at the free-throw line. He’s a great player and he lives at the line.
“You think about trying to guard the best offensive players in the league — nowadays it’s almost impossible,” Malone told Scott Van Pelt. “A lot of times, offensive players like Shai will initiate the contact or hook his arm, looking to draw that contact. He is a foul artist.”
The same can be said of Brunson, Harden, Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid. Many players have utilized rules that enhance freedom of movement to blow past defenders or cut to the basket with ease. But it’s the ones who seek contact who cause the most headaches. They don’t do it like Giannis Antetokounmpo, a bulldozing athlete. They understand angles and leverage. They’re strong, some deceptively so. Their athleticism is underrated when it comes to hand-eye coordination, balance and the ability to stop on a dime, allowing them to operate comfortably in tight spaces.
And their court awareness extends to understanding where the officials have blind spots. It enables them to react to light contact — or none at all — to get the call. In 2021, the NBA expanded its policing of flopping to include offensive players who make non-basketball moves to try to influence the officials. It has curtailed the most egregious acts, such as leg kicks from jump shooters and players leaning awkwardly into contact. But some players are superstars at deception.
In January, during a 20-point victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points while shooting just five free throws. Afterward, he told NBA TV: “I don’t need free throws. When they come, it’s a plus.”
He hates being considered a foul artist. So does Brunson. They would be all-stars without an advantageous whistle, but with it, their franchise-carrying powers are enhanced. Unlike for Harden and some of the foul merchants from Wall’s day, playoff scrutiny doesn’t seem to be their undoing.
After Minnesota returned home and beat Oklahoma City, 143-101, in Game 3, Timberwolves Coach Chris Finch was asked about defending SGA. Gilgeous-Alexander had just 14 points. He took just four free throws.
“Do you want me to tell you?” Finch said with perfect comedic timing.
He paused, let the room laugh with him and completed his predictable thoughts.
“We were a little cleaner around him,” Finch said. “Didn’t foul.”
For a game, the Timberwolves weren’t victims of a magic trick. Annoyed fans had no reason to complain. They should have bottled the feeling. It didn’t last. In a 40-point, 14-free-throw triumph in Game 4 on Monday night, Gilgeous-Alexander was masterful and sneaky again.
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