Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew criticism from some fans for being all smiles after the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 113-104 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 on Friday.
The Nuggets dominated overtime, limiting Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder to just one basket in the extra period, earning a 2-1 edge in the series. The top-seeded Thunder have not had to battle much adversity this season, but now face a must-win in Denver on Sunday.
However, Gilgeous-Alexander appeared unfazed by the loss, leaving the court with a wide grin and even laughing as he walked off.
“That collapse was unacceptable. Why would Shai smile after that embarrassing performance?” one fan said.
Another added: “I ain’t gon lie, that smile SGA had was like he was tryna convince himself that he ain’t worried lmao.”
“Shai smiling which could potentially be the coldest or the worst pic of all time,” another fan said.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the MVP favorite, turned in one of his worst performances of the season in the critical matchup. He was just 7-of-22 from the field, scoring 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander was particularly bad down the stretch, going 1-of-8 from the field and scoring just two points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“Dude scored 3 more points than I did sitting on my couch in the 4th and OT and is leaving smiling,” a fan said.
Shai walking off with a smile after the loss 😅 pic.twitter.com/3L27cKCsQg
— ESPN (@espn) May 10, 2025
Besides Friday’s letdown, Gilgeous-Alexander has had lots to smile about this postseason. He’s averaged 29.7 points, 6.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds in the playoffs.
The Thunder opened as a 5.5-point road favorite for Game 4 in Denver.
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