A subtle, real-life version of the classic Spider-Man pointing meme played out on the court Wednesday as the Thunder dominated the Suns 138-89. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the main focus of fans’ laughs. With Phoenix already missing stars like Devin Booker, Grayson Allen tried to get physical. While he paid the price for that move, he also ended up dragging SGA into the chaos.

With the Thunder cruising to a massive lead, Allen collided with Thunder center Chet Holmgren, who was simply trying to set a screen for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In the process, Allen extended both arms and sent Holmgren to the floor, sparking an immediate reaction from players on both teams.

The incident occurred with 5:18 left in the third quarter, as Oklahoma City led 94-58. The play quickly escalated into a brief on-court skirmish, though officials moved in to separate the players without the situation getting out of hand. The referees reviewed the play and determined that Allen’s actions warranted a Flagrant 2 foul, citing both windup and follow-through in their decision.

That instantly resulted in Allen being ejected from the game.

Allen’s ejection came at a particularly rough time for Phoenix. The Thunder were already dominating, at one point leading by an eye-popping 50 points, and losing a key guard only made the blowout worse. The Suns had little chance to recover, and the incident highlighted both the frustration of the road team and Allen’s own history of aggressive fouls.

Meanwhile, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander’s reaction that has fans talking. Wide eyes, side-eye glances, and open mouths perfectly captured the moment. Fans noticed instantly because when fouls and free throws are involved, you can never count SGA out.

Fans troll Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s reaction

Everyone, even kids, knows Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is labeled a “free-throw merchant,” a player who draws defenders into contact and often earns whistles. Wednesday night added another fan-given title, with one calling him the “Worst flopper in the league.” The numbers back it up: from 2022-23 through 2024-25, Giannis Antetokounmpo attempted 2,261 free throws, while SGA wasn’t far behind with 2,057. This season, he’s connecting on 88.1% of his free throws.

One fan even joked, “All he’s thinking to himself is ‘the way I’d flop on a shove like that’ 😭😭.'” That thought probably crossed SGA’s mind, too, but this kind of labeling isn’t new for him. In fact, he’s already making history. Just in the first two games of this season, he’s attempted 40 free throws, the most ever by a player in the opening two games of an NBA season.

But is flopping even allowed? The NBA introduced a technical foul for flopping before the 2023-24 season on a one-year trial, which they later made permanent. While referees can’t review flops on their own, they do have the power to call one if a replay is triggered through a challenge on a foul call. So technically, officials have the authority, but clearly, fans don’t wait for that.

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One wrote, “SGA wondering how many free throws that would’ve been😂,” and even said that, “I would honestly get a feather and touch SGA in the game to see if he would get a foul called,” poking fun at his ability to get to the line. Even Jalen Brown has hinted in the past that reaching the top in the NBA sometimes means learning to sell contact in a way that draws whistles, essentially teaching younger players how to “flop” effectively without naming names.

Right now, SGA is second in the league in free throw attempts, averaging 10.2 per game, just behind Luka Doncic’s 12.1. Last season, he ranked third in the same category with 8.8 attempts per game.

Another netizen commented, “Flop game recognizes flop game,” clearly calling out Grayson Allen himself. Allen, of course, isn’t a stranger to this kind of attention. Back in his Duke days, he gained a reputation for tripping and drawing fouls, and though he’s been quieter about it in the NBA, similar incidents and even a suspension early in his career have kept the label alive.

Allen has acknowledged that much of the criticism stems from his time in college, when he admits he was still immature. Fans, however, aren’t fully letting that slide, and many believe some of that reputation for playing “dirty” still lingers.