"Absolutely love him": Doris Burke, after her comment draws criticism from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fans

Doris Burke went live on The ESPN Communications Podcast and set the record straight about fans alleging that she did not like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. With the 2025 NBA Finals approaching, Burke commented on allegations of bias as ESPN's lead analyst and clarified that she loves the reigning NBA MVP, SGA.Doris Burke calls SGA a 'free throw merchant', which results in backlashBurke made a fair point when she expressed that with multiple teams and their expansive fandoms, it was tough not to receive criticism and make a few enemies along the way. The statement by Burke that drew criticism was when SGA was accused of foul-baiting. Burke said, "This is why he’s called the free-throw merchant."While commenting on the backlash, she shared, “One of the storylines in the Western Conference Finals, in Game 1 in particular, Minnesota had some frustration about the number of free throws that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took.

And NBA Twitter goes crazy for certain guys who they call ‘free throw merchants,’ etc. The situation this year reminds me a little of Dwyane Wade in the 2006 Finals against Dallas, where people were incensed at the number of free throws."

She also added, “So we talked about the storyline, ‘free throw merchant,’ and we did that because in Minnesota, 19,000 fans were chanting ‘free throw merchant.’ We know the viewer at home can hear that.

And if they can’t hear it, they are wondering what’s being chanted. And so we felt going in as a broadcast team, ‘this is a storyline. If it plays out where there’s a number of free throws happening, it’s something we need to discuss.

'”Also Read: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's rise draws unexpected comparison to Magic legend Penny HardawayShe further shared, “Oklahoma City fans took exception to that. They didn’t like it. And usually, I can tell I feel like I’m doing a decent job when multiple fan bases are pissed off at me… at various times, Boston fans think I hate them, Knicks fans think I hate them, Sixers fans, and now Oklahoma City’s like, ‘why doesn’t Doris like SGA?’ I love SGA. Absolutely love him.”