There have been many vocal dissenters in sports media recently over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his style of play.
Few have been more consistent and harsher than ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams.
SGA snagged his second NBA MVP in a row this season and has the Oklahoma City Thunder one game away from returning to the NBA Finals with a chance to repeat as NBA champions. He could also take home a second Finals MVP as well, cementing himself as one of the best players of a generation.
However, SGA has also developed a reputation as a flopper and “foul-baiter,” using that to pad his stats and create a brand of basketball that draws intense criticism.
Williams has been at the forefront of that critique, saying last week that he finds it very hard to root for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder.
Last week, Williams scorched SGA and the Thunder over this style of play and how it makes them unlikable.
“When you watch OKC play, every single call, every single time they shoot, SGA is landing in somebody’s region, he’s falling down,” Williams said last Friday. “And you’re just like, ‘How do I root for that? I see why I can root for [Victor Wembanyama]. I can’t root for that.’ As a fan of the game, I just want to see the game respected. And there are times when I watch OKC play, I don’t feel like they respect the process of the game.”
The ESPN NBA analyst also mockingly walked off the set on Thursday when Michael Wilbon suggested that if Oklahoma City wins another title, little kids all across America will start learning how to flop.
This Friday, Williams took things up a notch, leading a segment on Get Up called “Life Alert with SGA” that highlighted all the times the two-time MVP hit the ground unnecessarily.
Nah man I’ve NEVER seen a back to back MVP with worse PR than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lmaooo
Jay Williams just introduced a new segment called ‘Life Alert with SGA’
“Help me I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” pic.twitter.com/2hrRnaR4ZH
— Hater Report (@HaterReport) May 29, 2026
All of that scrutiny isn’t going unnoticed, and Williams has been getting pushback from Thunder fans and others, who think he’s just being a hater or jealous of an NBA player who is putting up better numbers than he did in his career.
Williams responded to one such critic on Saturday, saying that if he’s getting personal attacks, he must be doing something right.
One thing I’ve learned in sports, business, and media: when people can’t attack the argument, they attack the messenger.
I showed three clips. The conversation became about my résumé. That’s usually a sign we’re no longer discussing the actual point. https://t.co/JPg7Jxzwga— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) May 30, 2026
“One thing I’ve learned in sports, business, and media: when people can’t attack the argument, they attack the messenger,” Williams wrote on X. “I showed three clips. The conversation became about my résumé. That’s usually a sign we’re no longer discussing the actual point.”
When that critic said he was upset with how ESPN and Get Up were framing the series, Williams responded, saying the critique was hypocritical.
You’re doing the exact thing you’re accusing us of doing. Taking one segment, ignoring the larger body of work, and using it to create a narrative. We’ve spent far more time discussing SGA’s greatness and OKC’s dominance than a 90 second clip. The algorithm rewarded that clip.… https://t.co/OYGEzDrGtS
— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) May 30, 2026
“You’re doing the exact thing you’re accusing us of doing. Taking one segment, ignoring the larger body of work, and using it to create a narrative,” wrote Williams. “We’ve spent far more time discussing SGA’s greatness and OKC’s dominance than a 90-second clip. The algorithm rewarded that clip. That doesn’t make it representative. If we’re evaluating coverage, the standard should be the full body of work, not the one moment people chose to amplify.”
There’s truth in that sentiment. We and other sites gravitated towards the Life Alert segment way more than any other critical discussion of the Thunder-Spurs series on Friday’s Get Up. Still, perception is often reality, so it’s unlikely that either side will convince the other that they’re correct in this scenario.
And if the Thunder lose Game 7, god help the SGA fans out there…
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