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Kalan Hooks, ESPN
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the craftiest point guards in the NBA on the court. But on social media, he takes his captions to a different level.
After the Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-97 on Saturday, Anthony Edwards had words in his postgame interview about the Oklahoma City point guard and how loosely the referees seem to blow their whistles.
“It’s hard to with the calls that Shai gets,” Edwards told reporters after the game. “It’s hard to shut him down. You can’t touch him at any time of the game. It’s super hard to beat. That team is a good team, especially when they get calls like that.”
Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to take notice of Edwards’ interview and made a fashionable response to the comments using an Instagram caption.
“They talk about me for my post game, not my postgame,” Gilgeous-Alexander posted with 10 other photos and videos, including clips from the game.
The Thunder point guard has been turning his Instagram captions into bars, or vice versa. Here are some of his most creative photo captions:
“I’m not at CITI Field when I tell you I’m in NY for the Met”
The New York Mets were in the midseason as the Met Gala occurred. The Mets play their games at Citi Field, but Gilgeous-Alexander noted he wasn’t in the Big Apple to see them play. He was in New York as part of the 2023 Met Gala, where the guard was styled in Thom Browne — a luxury fashion brand — after being named GQ’s Stylish Man of the Year.
“Light game, 35 and 7… numbers on the board from OKC to BK like 35 & 7”
The Thunder beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-107 last season. Gilgeous-Alexander posted a game-high of 35 points and seven rebounds and had the caption to back it up. However, he took it a step further, referencing Kevin Durant, who was traded from the Thunder to the Nets and switched his jersey number from 35 to 7.
“And when i’m on the block just pass me the rock, stay with the 44, Like Michelle with Barack”
Gilgeous-Alexander went 13-for-16 from the field to drop 44 points in a 138-129 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. But the guard honed in on his go-to spot where he mostly receives the ball: the block. In the caption, he pays tribute to the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.
“Don’t ask me if I study the greats, it sounds rhetorical student of the game, those matchups were historical i watched them Chase that boy off screens at the Oracle”
Oklahoma City defeated the Golden State Warriors 137-128 in March 2023, where Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points to a typical Stephen Curry 40 ball.
The 6-foot-6 guard was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft to the Thunder. Curry was in his 10th season and had just won his fourth NBA championship over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, was home to the Warriors at the time before their move to the Chase Center in San Francisco.
“Shai over, Shai under, Shai you owe me bread bc you didn’t cover, ya ya ya, just know who to go to when you need a bucket before the buzzer”
When parlays are on the line, fans are on the edge of their seats, hoping their bet hits. Gilgeous-Alexander’s main goal is to come out on top with a victory despite what the betting odds are saying. As he’s the leading scorer for Oklahoma City, fans and opponents know whose hands the ball will be in when a bucket is needed in the clutch.