At least one Minnesota Timberwolves player appears to be buying into the narrative that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets a favorable whistle from officials.
Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels made the comment Wednesday, one day after his team lost 114-88 to the Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at Paycor Center in Oklahoma City, Ok. McDaniels said the Timberwolves had been prepared for Gilgeous-Alexander to draw plenty of fouls, and that there was little the team could do about it.
“We expected it. Myself knowing coming in, he gets calls,” McDaniels said. “Not everything is going to go our way. Nothing we can do about it. Just got to keep playing.”
Jaden McDaniels on fouls: “We expected it. Myself just knowing coming in, he gets calls. Not everything is going to go our way. Nothing we can do about it. Just gotta keep playing.” pic.twitter.com/dblgamkx15
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 21, 2025
McDaniels added that the Timberwolves need to find a way to be less physical, and that the team has no choice but to “switch our gameplan of how the refs are calling the game.”
McDaniels does not necessarily sound angry about Gilgeous-Alexander drawing fouls, but is simply treating it as a reality of facing the star guard. At times, Gilgeous-Alexander has faced criticism for leaning too hard on free throws to score, and it seemed to annoy one of McDaniels’ teammates in Game 1.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points in the Thunder’s Game 1 win, with 11 of them coming at the line. McDaniels was limited to 24 minutes and fouled out with 5:21 to go in the fourth, with five of his six fouls drawn by Gilgeous-Alexander. He and the Timberwolves will have to figure out a new approach going forward.
