[The Athletic] 谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大律师向Underdog Sports发出停止侵权函

TheAthletic · 2026 年5 月 28 日 05:10

By Jason Jones | The Athletic, 2026-05-27 23:59:33

体育竞猜与范特西体育公司 Underdog Sports 收到了一封停止侵权函，起因是该公司的一项推广活动嘲讽了谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 频繁制造犯规的行为。

Underdog 推出了一款改编自经典桌游《人体手术》（Operation）的游戏。在这款游戏中，只要吉尔杰斯-亚历山大被碰到，代表犯规的蜂鸣器就会响起。这款游戏被命名为“不道德篮球”（Unethical Hoops）。在吉尔杰斯-亚历山大效力的俄克拉荷马城雷霆与圣安东尼奥马刺之间的西部决赛第三场期间，该公司举办了一场活动，免费赠送100套该游戏。

在一份日期为5月22日并由 The Athletic 获取的信函中，代表吉尔杰斯-亚历山大的 ArentFox Schiff 律师事务所律师埃里克·菲什曼 (Eric Fishman) 要求 Underdog “永久停止在任何及所有媒体中以任何形式使用吉尔杰斯-亚历山大先生的姓名、图像和肖像权 (NIL)，包括但不限于您的网站（包括 Unethical Hoops 网站）、应用程序、社交媒体账号、数字营销与广告、推广邮件、推送通知、联盟营销或网红推广投放，以及任何实体商品，包括但不限于在 Unethical Hoops 网站上做广告的这款桌游。”

信中还要求销毁所有该款桌游，且 Underdog 在未获得授权的情况下不得使用吉尔杰斯-亚历山大的姓名、图像或肖像。Underdog 拒绝就此信函发表评论。

菲尼克斯太阳前锋狄龙·布鲁克斯 (Dillon Brooks) 在 Unethical Hoops 网站和社交媒体上的广告中试玩了这款游戏。截至周三晚间，该网站仍处于在线状态。

在雷霆队力争卫冕 NBA 总冠军的过程中，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大走上罚球线的超强能力一直是一个讨论热点。他被指责刻意骗犯规和假摔，一些人甚至质疑他的打法是否“道德”。在过去的四个赛季中（包括季后赛），他的罚球出手次数比排名第二的球员多了391次。

在本赛季早些时候，圣安东尼奥马刺球星维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 开始使用这个词后，关于“道德”的讨论愈演愈烈。

在季后赛期间，这仍然是一个热门话题。SGA 今年季后赛至今已经命中了120个罚球，而运动战进球只有114个。媒体成员甚至试图统计吉尔杰斯-亚历山大为了制造犯规而摔倒了多少次。在第三场比赛期间，Underdog 举办的活动要求球迷在吉尔杰斯-亚历山大每次摔倒时，引用转发 X（原推特）上的一条帖子，以此获得赢取“不道德篮球”游戏的机会。

在西部决赛期间，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大在圣安东尼奥被问及关于球迷称他为“假摔者”的看法。

“这毫无影响，”吉尔杰斯-亚历山大说道。“既无法成为我的动力，也不会让我气馁。这是比赛的一部分。我已经应对这种声音很久了。我其实听不到这些，我只专注于球场上发生的事情。”

由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。

点击查看原文：Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's lawyers issue cease and desist letter to Underdog Sports

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lawyers issue cease and desist letter to Underdog Sports

Underdog Sports, a sports prediction market and fantasy sports company, received a cease and desist letter regarding a promotion making fun of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s efforts to draw fouls.

Underdog created a version of the board game Operation in which the buzzer went off for a foul anytime Gilgeous-Alexander was touched. The game was called Unethical Hoops, and the company had a contest to give away 100 copies of the game during Game 3 of the Western Conference finals between Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.

In a letter dated May 22 and obtained by The Athletic, Eric Fishman of law firm ArentFox Schiff LLP, representing Gilgeous-Alexander, asked Underdog to “permanently cease and desist from any and all use of Mr. Gilgeous-Alexander’s NIL in any and all media, including but not limited to your website (including the Unethical Hoops Website), apps, social media accounts, digital marketing and advertisements, promotional emails, push notifications, affiliate or influencer placements, and any physical goods including but not limited to the board game advertised on the Unethical Hoops Website.”

The letter also asks that all board games be destroyed and that Underdog not use Gilgeous-Alexander’s name, image or likeness without his permission. Underdog declined to comment on the letter.

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks played the game in the ads that were on the Unethical Hoops website and social media. As of Wednesday evening, the website was still live.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s prowess getting to the free throw line has been a topic of discussion as the Thunder have worked to defend their NBA championship. He’s been accused of foul baiting and flopping, and some have questioned whether his style of play is “ethical.” In the last four seasons, including the playoffs, he has attempted 391 more free throws than the next-closest players.

The ethical discussion picked up after San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama started using the term earlier this season.

That’s still a topic during the playoffs. SGA has made 120 free throws this postseason, compared to 114 field goals. Media members have even tried to count how many times Gilgeous-Alexander falls in an attempt to draw fouls. The Underdog contest during Game 3 asked fans to quote a post on X every time Gilgeous-Alexander fell for a chance to win the Unethical Hoops game.

Gilgeous-Alexander was asked in San Antonio during the Western Conference finals about fans calling him a “flopper.”

“It does nothing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Doesn’t fuel me, doesn’t discourage me. It’s part of the game. I’ve been dealing with it a long time. I don’t really hear it. I’m focused on what’s going on on the court.”

By Jason Jones, via The Athletic

TheAthletic · 2026 年5 月 28 日 05:31

热评

769924:

真是个巨婴。也许他该试试别假摔？

Benjamin D.:

@ 他居然能找到办法让自己变得更招人嫌。谁会因为这事起诉啊？！

F B.:

@Benjamin D.
“如果你觉得你讨厌我是因为我在球场上的表现，那就等着瞧瞧我在场下的所作所为吧！”

Benjamin D.:

@F B. 或者，“如果你觉得你讨厌我是因为我在球场（court）上的表现，那就等着瞧瞧我在法庭（court）上的表现吧！”

Ore A.:

@Benjamin D. @F B. 他的“罪行”就是起诉一家未经授权就用他的肖像做游戏的公司？这就招人嫌了？走出你们狭隘的信息茧房吧。这在任何地方都是不可接受的，笑死我了。

F B.:

@Ore A. 听起来有人需要去读读《洋葱报》了！

Ore A.:

@F B. 切。Underdog 只需要停止侵权就行了。我敢说他们会照做的。

F B.:

@Ore A. 他们为什么要停止？谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 的律师简直是帮了他们一个大忙。他们的产品现在比以往任何时候都更有价值、更有曝光度。我敢打赌，有成千上万的知识产权律师愿意免费为 Underdog 辩护……

Devin K.:

那家伙（还有那支球队）毫无骨气。完全不在乎自己表现得多么爱抱怨、虚伪和软弱。

Ore A.:

@Terry T. 简直不敢相信这居然能成为这里的讨论话题。现在的 NBA 舆论环境真是没救了，哈哈。一群成年人就因为讨厌亚历山大，居然在争论这么愚蠢的事情

thinksupreme:

如果真像他声称的那样，他对此毫不在意，那为什么还要发停止侵权函？
他显然很介意。所以他才会让律师介入。

Kevin C.:

因为他的姓名、图像和肖像（NIL）在未经允许的情况下被用来推销产品。
不过话虽如此，这个游戏的创意确实太搞笑了。

Charles D.:

@Kevin C. “赠送100套的活动”。不，他们能从这次推广中赚到钱，纯粹是因为亚历山大的律师反应过度。典型的搬起石头砸自己的脚。

Matt K.:

@Kevin C. 除了可能需要调整一下图片上的脸部之外，这其实完全属于合理使用的恶搞，特别是如果他们不直接通过销售这款游戏来获利的话。卡通形象、没有雷霆队球衣、没有 NBA 标志、通用的裁判形象，而且很多球员都会戴护臂和发带等等。你绝对能找到一大堆专家，他们会认为这确实是对他公众形象的一种调侃。在这种案子里，唯一能获利的只有那些乐此不疲地互相发律师函的律师们。

Dino B.:

这种骗流量带节奏的文化真是令人发指。亚历山大并不是唯一一个利用规则造犯规的球员，但出于某种原因，他承受了大部分的仇恨。为什么？也许是因为他效力于一支实力强劲但市场较小的球队？也许是因为他居然敢在连续两个赛季里表现得比网络宠儿约基奇（Jokic）更好？也许是因为网上的慢动作视频里他做了一些搞笑的表情？也许是因为他显然没有受到网上那些幼稚言论的影响，从而让键盘侠们更加愤怒？继续哭吧，伙计们，亚历山大的气场和天赋是实打实存在的。倒数3、2、1，无能狂怒的评论即将到达……

Michael H.:

@Dino B. 他那场19投7中，还有6次失误，却罚了17个球。
如果没有推人、主动往防守球员身上撞和假摔，他就是个垃圾。这不是夸张。他的效率会低到根本上不了场。

Dino B.:

所以评价一个球员的全部依据就是这一场被你挑出来的比赛？连续两届MVP的评选结果可不这么认为。再举个例子，文班（Wemby）是一名不可思议的球员，未来会拿到多个 MVP——我可不会拿他第五场的表现来断章取义。

Will T.:

@Michael H. 别管谢伊的妈妈了，她总是躲在评论区里保护她那脆弱的心肝宝贝。和“假摔妈妈”讲道理，谈论她的小宝贝，你是不会有任何结果的。

Ore A.:

@Michael H. 然而他依然比世界上最好的球员更有效率

V S.:

@Michael H. 看看这场比赛的所有犯规，指出来哪怕一个亚历山大不配得到的哨子。

Mister Pin K.:

@Dino B. 他之所以承受了大部分的仇恨，是因为他大部分时间都在这么干。
这真的很难看。一点意思都没有。
NBA最好在休赛期把这种烂事扼杀在摇篮里。

mcmahone7:

@Dino B. 还是说，他之所以招黑，有没有可能是因为他比排名第二的球员多罚了390个球？你可以喜欢一个球员，但同时对他场上的行为感到失望。如果你看不出这有什么问题，那你就是瞎了。他不是唯一一个，但这不断的中断和停滞确实毁了比赛的流畅度。

Mister Pin K.:

@Steve C. 伤害到超级巨星？不至于。只有他和东契奇 (Doncic)。
他们都是精英级别的得分手，根本不需要诉诸这些低劣的伎俩。
杀鸡儆猴对这项运动更有利，让大家知道不能故意去欺骗裁判，而不是继续奖励这些本质上是作弊的行为。
这必须改变。

Collin M.:

文班比谢伊更不讲武德，但大家还没准备好面对这个事实。

769924:

@Collin M. 哈哈，少来。这显然不是真的。

Roni M.:

@Collin M. 没错，他骨子里其实是个脏球手。你绝不会看到亚历山大在今年季后赛做出他那样的举动。

Kevin S.:

纳兹·里德 (Naz Reid)

kenneth Y.:

@Collin M. 你小时候是不是吃过油漆皮？

769924:

@Devin T. 那是因为他一刻不停地在假摔。只要防守球员走到他五英尺以内，他就会倒在地上。相比指下，在那场比赛里，文班每次拿球都会遭到粗暴的犯规。拉扯、抓挠、击打、推背、绊人。在整整两场比赛里，这些动作一个哨都没有吹，然后这家伙终于崩溃了，让愤怒冲昏了头脑。也许你在评论之前应该先去看看比赛。

961883:

@ 也许你应该看看斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 是如何在全场防守时对亚历山大拉扯、推搡和生拉硬拽的。当马刺队包夹他时，是两个人同时在这么干。即使他一直遭到侵犯，通常也不会吹犯规。然而亚历山大并没有向裁判抱怨和哭诉。

769924:

@ 哈哈，你在看什么球？他们几乎都没碰到他。少在这胡说八道。

11302172:

篮球运动员在防守人贴上来时顺势倒地，既能展现对抗，又能避免扭伤脚踝等，这是聪明的做法。我觉得这没问题。库里（Curry）在大多数突破时似乎都会倒地，大概也是为了保护脚踝。防守者试图对伟大的得分手施加身体对抗——他们确实犯规了。媒体对此的执念简直荒谬。文班在用肘子放倒里德，以及对卡鲁索（Caruso）那次荒谬的冲撞之后，就已经失去了他的“道德”信誉。做动作去伤害球员，可比试图造犯规要恶劣得多。

Hayden P.:

你是给自己点赞了吗？绝对不可能有两个人（你和另一个）能对这种观点达成一致并点赞。
补充说明：我无法接受的是你觉得“这没问题”的那部分。

Margery W.:

库里在每次突破和无球跑动时都会被生拉硬拽，但他从不假摔。不像亚历山大，他从在球员停车场下车的那一刻起就开始假摔了。

11348807:

@JB P. 你的评论也是个“假摔”，JB。

769924:

@ 你到底在胡说八道些什么？对里德的那记肘击，是在连续两场比赛被对手疯狂侵犯、而裁判对那些积极想要弄伤他的家伙视而不见之后发生的。成熟点吧，伙计。去认真看看那些比赛，然后再来告诉我那一肘是不是脏动作。
而且那根本不是对亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 的进攻犯规。差得远呢。他只是降低肩膀迎接对抗，就像每个球员在有人阻挡他们前进路线时所做的那样。卡鲁索假摔了。他的脚根本没站稳。不是进攻犯规，也绝对算不上脏动作。

769924:

@Mister Pin K. 如果你觉得那一肘很脏，那显然你没看那几场比赛。别装了。

769924:

@Mister Pin K. 我没说那不是一次恶意犯规，但打球脏和在连续两场比赛不断被犯规后一时失控之间，有着巨大的区别。所以，是的，我能看出你没看比赛。因为如果你看了，你就会看到里德和其他人拽住他的手臂、拉扯他的肩膀关节、在背后推他。天哪，就在他挥肘之前，他们甚至直接扇了他的脸。
那才叫脏。故意犯规并试图造成伤害才是脏。就像卡鲁索肘击卡斯尔的腹部，重到把他撞出界外一样，那才叫脏。
在受到这种对待、而裁判又明确表示不会管的情况下心态崩溃，这不叫脏。这是一次犯规，也很危险，但这不符合“脏”的定义。

769924:

@Mister Pin K. 是的，他失去了冷静。但这显然和成为一个脏球手不是一回事。这就是重点。说他是脏球手太荒谬了。

769924:

@Mister Pin K. 我建议你回头看看我上一条评论。再读一遍，因为你显然没看懂。

Dino B.:

一家公司正在利用一名球员极具商业价值的姓名、图像和肖像（NIL）来牟利。该球员起诉他们。在任何情况下这都是合情合理的，不管你觉得这个游戏好不好笑，或者你对这个球员怎么看。这根本不是招不招人嫌，或者他个人是否介意被叫作假摔怪的问题。如果我非法销售印有网络宠儿约基奇肖像的T恤并从中获利，无论这件T恤有多搞笑，它都是违法的，他完全有权起诉我。这和亚历山大的情况没有什么不同。接受现实吧，黑子们。继续哭。

Clifton M.:

哈哈，“继续哭”？他的名声是自己作出来的。没人哭。最坏的情况也就是大家翻翻白眼，叹叹气。
不管怎样，这确实是违法的。他们可以进行修改，让它有足够明显的区别以达到合法标准。它会回来的。

Dino B.:

他们只是根据在网上看到的最新一条视频片段，就被带起节奏，然后翻着白眼、叹着气在键盘上敲字抱怨。他们真的应该多看看 NBA 比赛（更多的球队、更多的球员、完整的比赛，而不是只依赖集锦短视频），并且偶尔断一下网，哈哈。

Matt K.:

@Dino B. 你的约基奇例子偏离了法律要点。你没说你是在明确地恶搞他，就像这个游戏对亚历山大所做的那样。如果你在T恤上使用约基奇的照片来牟利，那是“违法”的。但如果你创作了一个滑稽的篮球运动员形象，我们通过上下文线索可能会认为那是约基奇，而你并没有使用他的名字或任何其他注册商标图案，那么你很可能就没事。你仍然会收到律师发来的千篇一律的威胁信，因为他们就是干这个的。找你自己的律师反驳回去，他们很可能胜诉无望。这款《手术》（Operation）游戏确实踩在了这条线上，如果他们把脸部设计得更“大众化”一些可能会更安全，否则这就属于合理使用。

11348807:

@Clifton M. 这听起来真的很像在哭，克里夫。

Matt K.:

虽然确实每个人都拥有自己的肖像权（NIL），但 NBA 球员是公众人物。除了可能需要调整一下图片上的脸部之外，这其实完全属于合理使用的恶搞，特别是如果他们不直接通过销售这款游戏来获利的话。卡通形象、没有雷霆队球衣、没有 NBA 标志、通用的裁判形象、模糊品牌的球鞋，而且很多球员都会戴护臂和发带等等。你绝对能找到一大堆专家，他们会认为这确实是对他公众形象的一种调侃。只有他的律师才能辩称这在某种程度上给亚历山大造成了经济损失，因为其他人都知道这过去没有、未来也不会造成损失。也许亚历山大对游戏中出现的某些元素拥有某种商标权。否则，在这种案子里，唯一能获利的只有那些乐此不疲地互相发律师函的律师们。

Stallone M.:

几件事可以同时成立：

亚历山大打篮球真的他***强。

骗犯规。他非常擅长通过让你失去平衡、失位并主动制造接触，来博取合理的、够得上犯规的身体接触。这很聪明，需要高超的技术、刻苦的训练等。这完全符合当今比赛的规则以及当今比赛吹罚的初衷。他利用了这一点，而且做得非常、非常、让人恼火地出色。

演戏。有时他只是在夸大动作来要哨子，不管他有没有诱导防守球员犯规。同样，他确实被犯规了，但他的表演极其夸张以引起注意。虽然烦人，但也是比赛的一部分。同样，他在这方面也是让人恼火地擅长。

他还总是无缘无故地假摔、挥舞手臂和倒地，完全没有任何身体接触，或者只有极少、边缘、附带的接触，又或者是那些显然不会导致他做出后续倒地动作的接触，这些根本不应该升级为犯规。有时他能骗到哨子，有时裁判也足够聪明没有上当。不管怎样，看着都让人烦透了。这就是除了雷霆球迷之外，激怒所有人的地方。

雷霆全队，从卢·多尔特 (Lu Dort)、亚历克斯·卡鲁索、以赛亚·哈尔滕施泰因 (Isaiah Hartenstein)，到大杰伦·威廉姆斯 (Jalen Williams)，一直在假摔，无缘无故撞向别人然后假摔倒地，并且总是做出拉扯别人手臂、肩膀、头发，以及扑向别人膝盖/脚踝等脏动作。

“大家都在做”或者“别人也这么做”根本不是借口。程度很重要。他们做上述所有事情的频率远超其他所有人。这是他们取得巨大团队成功的主要因素，每个人都看得清清楚楚，但却没有任何人对此采取行动。

去***的亚历山大和雷霆队，我希望马刺队能拿下接下来的两场比赛，或者尼克斯队能给他们上一课，尽管杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 和卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 是联盟中假摔、挥臂、倒地最严重的两个家伙。但他们至少不像雷霆队那么脏。

6904271:

@Stallone M. 全用大写字母打字感觉爽吗？

11302172:

文班对里德脸部的那记肘击非常凶狠。如果造成了更严重的伤害，文班就会被禁赛。当然，文班在挥肘之前一直被生拉硬拽。但这不能成为借口。伟大的进攻球员总是会被生拉硬拽。那一肘确实是个脏动作。但一次脏动作就会让文班成为一个脏球手吗？不会。两次也不会——比如对卡鲁索降低肩膀的冲撞。这确实表明他会失去冷静，这对于一个身材如此高大的球员来说是危险的。如果他继续过度反应，他就会背上脏球手的恶名。但是，就“道德”而言，你不能故意狠狠地用肘子击打别人的脸（这是一个脏动作），然后又去抱怨谢伊是如何造犯规的。圣安东尼奥的防守者们也总是整场贴着他。

由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。

点击查看原文：

769924:

What a baby. Maybe he should try not flopping?

Benjamin D.:

@ he somehow found a way to be even more unlikable. Who sues over that?!?!

F B.:

@Benjamin D.
“If you thought you disliked me because of how I behave when I’m on the court, just wait until you see how I act when I’m off of it!”

Benjamin D.:

@F B. Or “If you thought you disliked me because of how I behave when I’m on the court, just wait until you see how I act when I’m in court!”

Ore A.:

@Benjamin D. @F B. and his crime here is suing a company that’s using his likeness for a game without his permission? And this is unlikeable? Get out of your little bubbles. This is not acceptable anywhere LMAO.

F B.:

@Ore A. Sounds like someone needs to go read the Onion!

Ore A.:

@F B. Meh. All that needs to happen is for Underdog to desist. And I bet they will.

F B.:

@Ore A. Why would they? SGA’s attorneys just did them a tremendous favor. Their products are more valuable and visible than ever. And I’d bet there are thousands of IP lawyers ready to represent Underdog pro bono ….

Devin K.:

That guy (and team) has no pride. Literally don’t care how whiny, fake and soft they are.

Ore A.:

@Terry T. Can’t even believe this is an actual conversation on here. The NBA discourse right now is so finished lool. The silly things grown men are arguing because they don’t like SGA

thinksupreme:

If it doesn’t bother him, like he claims, then why the cease and desist?
It does bother him. That’s why he got his lawyers on it.

Kevin C.:

Because his name, image and likeness are being used without his permission to sell a product.
That said, the idea of the game is pretty damn funny.

Charles D.:

@Kevin C. “contest to give away 100 copies”. Naw, they’re only gonna make money off this promotion because of SGA’s lawyers overreaction. Classic self own

Matt K.:

@Kevin C. Outside of maybe needing to adjust the face on the image, this really falls under fair-use parody, especially if they’re not profiting from selling the game directly. Cartoon images, no OKC jersey, no NBA logo.generic ref, plenty players wear armbands and headbands, etc. You’d find no shortage of experts who would say this is indeeed a play on his public persona. The only ones that ever profit in cases like these are the attorneys who are more than happy to send letters back and forth.

Dino B.:

Ragebait culture is maddening. SGA is not the only player who takes advantage of drawing fouls, but for some reason he gets majority of the hate. Why? Maybe because he plays for a dominant but small market team? Maybe because he dared to be better for 2 seasons vs Jokic i.e. the internet’s darling? Maybe because he makes funny faces when videos are in slow motion online? Maybe because he is clearly unaffected by the juvenile online discourse, thereby angering keyboard warriors even more? Cry more fellas, SGA aura and talent is well and truly alive. Raging comments below in 3… 2… 1…

Michael H.:

@Dino B. He was 7-19 w 6 turnovers and shot 17 FT’s.
He’d suck wo pushing off, lunging into players, and flopping. Not hyperbole. He’d be too inefficient to play.

Dino B.:

So the entire basis of a player is on 1 cherry-picked game? Back to back MVPs say otherwise. As another example, Wemby is an unbelievable player, with multiple MVPs in the future - I won’t cherry pick his Game 5 performance.

Will T.:

@Michael H. Leave Shai’s mom alone, she’s always in the comments here protecting her fragile darling. You won’t get anywhere talking sense with Mama Flop about her little boy

Ore A.:

@Michael H. Yet he was still more efficient than the best player in the world

V S.:

@Michael H. look at all fouls of this game and tell me about even one where Shai got one he did not deserve.

Mister Pin K.:

@Dino B. He gets the majority of the hate because he does this the majority of the time.
Its not fun to watch. At all.
NBA would be wise to nip this shit in the bud in the offseason.

mcmahone7:

@Dino B. Or is it possible he gets the majority of hate because he’s taken 390 more free throws than the next closest player. You can like the player and still be disappointed with how he acts. If you can’t see why this a problem then you’re blind. He’s not the only one but it is ruining the flow of the game with the constant stops and starts.

Mister Pin K.:

@Steve C. Hurt the biggest stars? Naw. Just him and Doncic.
They’re both elite shooters, they don’t need to resort to cheap tricks.
It’ll be better for the game to make an example that you don’t get to intentionally try and trick the refs rather than continue to reward these guys for what is, in essence, cheating.
That needs to change.

Collin M.:

Wemby is more unethical than Shai, but folks aren’t ready for that convo.

769924:

@Collin M. Lol, no. Pretty obviously untrue.

Roni M.:

@Collin M. Yup he’s lowkey a dirty player. You never see Shai doing what he has done this playoffs

Kevin S.:

Naz Reid

kenneth Y.:

@Collin M. Did you used to eat paint chips as a kid?

769924:

@Devin T. That’s because he flops nonstop. He collapses to the floor of an opposing player gets within five feet of him. By contrast, in that game Wemby was being fouled hard every single time he had the ball. Held. Scratched. Hit. Shoved in the back. Tripped. And none of them called for fouls over the course of two games before the dude snapped and let his anger get the best of him. Maybe you should actually watch the games before you comment on them.

961883:

@ maybe you should watch how Castle has been grabbing, shoving and pulling on SGA all the way down the floor. And when the Spurs double him it’s two guys doing that. No fouls called usually even though he’s been getting assaulted. And yet SGA isn’t whining and crying to the refs.

769924:

@ lol, what are you watching? They barely touch him. Get out of here with that nonsense

11302172:

It is smart for a basketball player to fall both to show contact and to avoid turning an ankle etc. while a defender is getting into you. I have no problem with it. Curry seems to fall on most drives probably to save his ankles. Defenders try to get physical with great scorers - they foul them. The media fixation on it is ridiculous. Wemby lost his ethical cred after leveling Reid with an elbow, and the ridiculous charge on Caruso. Doing stuff to injure players is worse than trying to draw fouls.

Hayden P.:

Did you like your own comment? No way two people, you AND another, agree enough for a like.
ETA for clarity: It’s the having no problem with it part that I have a problem with.

Margery W.:

Curry is mugged on every drive and when he’s in motion but he doesn’t flop unlike SGA who starts flopping in the players parking garage the moment he steps out of his car.

11348807:

@JB P. your comment is a flop, JB.

769924:

@ what on earth are you talking about? The elbow on Reid happened after two straight games of getting the shot kicked out of him with the refs calling zero fouls on the dudes actively trying to injure him. Grow up man. Go and actually watch those games and then tell me that elbow was dirty.
And that wasn’t a charge on Caruso. Not even close. He lowered his shoulder into contact like every player does when someone is blocking their path down the court. Caruso flopped. His feet weren’t set. Not a charge. Not a dirty play by any means.

769924:

@Mister Pin K. If you think that elbow was dirty, it’s clear you didn’t watch those games. Nice try.

769924:

@Mister Pin K. I didn’t say it wasn’t a flagrant foul, but that’s a massive difference between a playing dirty and having one moment where you lose control after being constantly fouled for two games. So yeah, I can tell you didn’t watch the games. Because if you had you’d have seen Reid and others grabbing his arm and pulling it, yanking on his shoulder joint, shoving him in the back. Hell, right before he threw that elbow they literally slapped him in the face.
THATS dirty. Intentionally fouling and trying to cause harm is dirty. Just like Alex Caruso elbowing Stephon Castle in the stomach hard enough to throw him out of bounds is dirty.
Snapping after being treated that way when the refs have made it clear they won’t do anything by about it isn’t dirty. It’s a foul, and it’s dangerous, but that’s not what “dirty” means.

769924:

@Mister Pin K. Yes, he lost his cool. Which is very obviously not the same thing as being a dirty player. That’s the whole point. To call him a dirty player is absurd.

769924:

@Mister Pin K. I’m just going to refer you to my last comment. Read it again since you clearly didn’t understand it.

Dino B.:

A company is profiting from a player’s highly profitable and marketable NIL (name, image, likeness). Said player sues them. This is acceptable in any context, regardless of whether you think the game is funny or not, or what you think of the player. It’s not about being unlikeable or being personally bothered by being called a flopper. If I illegally sold t-shirts with internet darling Jokic’s likeness on it and profited from it, no matter how funny the shirt is, it is illegal and he will have every right to sue me for it. It is no different from SGA’s case. Get over it, haters. Cry more.

Clifton M.:

Lol “cry more?” He earned his reputation. No one is crying. They’re rolling their eyes and sighing at worse.
Anyways, yes it’s illegal. They can make edits to make it distinctly different enough to be legal. It’ll be back.

Dino B.:

They’re rolling their eyes and sighing and typing on their keyboards based on the latest 1 clip they see online and being ragebaited and complaining. They should actually watch more NBA games (more teams, more players, whole games, instead of relying on clips) and go offline from time to time lol

Matt K.:

@Dino B. You’re missing the legal point with your Jokic example. You didn’t say you were clearly parodying him, like this game is with SGA. If you use a photo of Jokic on a shirt to profit, it’s “illegal.” If you create an image of a goofy basketball player that we might think is Jokic via context clues and without you using his name or any other trademarked imagery, then you’re probably in the clear. You’ll still get the threatening boilerplate letter from an attorney because that’s what they do. Get your own attorney to push back and they likely don’t have a case. This Operation game toes that line and they’d probably be safer “generecizing” the face a bit, otherwise it’s fair use.

11348807:

@Clifton M. This sounds alot like crying, Cliff.

Matt K.:

While it’s true we all own our NIL, NBA players are public figures. Outside of maybe needing to adjust the face on the image, this really falls under fair-use parody, especially if they’re not profiting from selling the game directly. Cartoon images, no OKC jersey, no NBA logo, generic ref, non-descript shoes, plenty of players wear armbands and headbands, etc. You’d find no shortage of experts who would say this is indeeed a play on his public image. Only his lawyer could argue it’s somehow caused SGA financial harm, because everyone else knows it hasn’t and wont. Maybe SGA holds some type of trademark on something appearing in the game. Otherwise the only ones that ever profit in cases like these are the attorneys who are more than happy to send letters back and forth.

Stallone M.:

Multiple things can be true at once:

SGA is really f****** good at basketball.

Foul-baiting. He is really good at drawing legitimate, foul-worthy contact by getting you off balance, out of position, and initiating contact. That’s smart, and takes a lot of skill, hard work, etc. That’s all within the rules and modern-day intentions of the way the game is played and officiated today, across the board. He’s taking advantage, and is really, really, annoyingly good at it.

Selling. Sometimes he’s just selling a call, whether he foul-baited a defender or not. Again, he’s getting legitimately fouled, but acting like crazy to draw attention to it. Annoying, but part of the game. Again, he’s just annoyingly good at it.

He also FLOPS and FLAILS and FALLS DOWN all the time, for no legitimate reason, with literally zero contact, or very little, marginal, incidental contact, or contact which clearly did not cause the ensuing action, which has no business rising to the level of a foul. Sometimes he gets the call, and sometimes the refs are actually smart enough not to fall for it. EITHER WAY, it’s annoying AF to watch. This is the part that enrages everyone but OKC fans.

The Thunder as a TEAM, from Lu Dort, to Alex Caruso, to IH, to big JW, FLOP, and randomly run into people and FLOP and FALL DOWN, and do dirty things like pulling on peoples arms, shoulders, HAIR, diving at people’s knees/feet ALL THE TIME.

It doesn’t matter that “everyone does it” or “other people do it too.” Degrees matter. They do all of the above way more than everyone else. And it is a major contributory factor to their overwhelming team success, and everyone can see it, and yet nothing is done about it.

F*** SGA AND OKC and I hope the Spurs take the next two or the Knicks are able to teach them a lesson, although Brunson and KAT are two of the worst flopping/flailing/falling offenders in the league. They’re just not a dirty team like OKC.

6904271:

@Stallone M. Did the caps feel good?

via The Athletic