One joke can change the entire mood of an awards show. That’s exactly what happened when Shane Gillis stepped to the microphone at the 2025 ESPYs and delivered a line that cut deeper than most expected. While the comedian took shots at everyone in the Dolby Theatre, his jab at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit different, and the awkward silence that followed said everything.
Why Did Shane Gillis Target Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Free Throw Game?
The ESPYs have always been a mix of glamour, awkward hugs, and the occasional roast. This year, Gillis had the honors of hosting the event. The 37-year-old comic didn’t waste time, taking aim at some of the biggest names in sports, from Shohei Ohtani to Simone Biles. However, when he turned his attention to Oklahoma City Thunder star Gilgeous-Alexander, it struck a particularly familiar nerve among NBA fans.
“SGA is here. Everybody sitting around him is in foul trouble.”
Shane Gillis: “SGA is here. Everybody sitting around him is in foul trouble” pic.twitter.com/GtcigsYLBp
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) July 17, 2025
The joke was a direct hit on one of the more debated parts of Gilgeous-Alexander’s game – his elite, some would say infuriating, ability to bait defenders into fouling him.
StatMuse shows he averaged 8.8 free throw attempts per game this past season, second only to Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s no accident. Gilgeous-Alexander has turned drawing contact into an art form. Or, if you ask his critics, an annoying loophole.
Fans have been loud about their frustrations, too. The “free throw merchant” chant followed him all the way to the Western Conference Finals, most notably during Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But through it all, Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t flinched.
“I don’t care. I never care,” he said when asked about the heckles.
The ESPYs joke, in that sense, wasn’t off the mark. It was actually pretty accurate, and in a less formal setting, might have killed. But on the Dolby Theatre stage, the line drew little more than a few chuckles and a lot of silence.
shit was weak
— maybach (@maybachtwotimes) July 17, 2025
Fans online noticed the lackluster response. One posted, “s**t was weak,” while another joked, “I know he thought that was gonna land harder.”
How Did Gillis’ Entire Monologue Struggle to Connect?
Gillis’ jab at Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t an isolated moment – it was part of a larger pattern in a monologue that never quite took off. While he spared no one, taking aim at Caitlin Clark, Megan Rapinoe, even Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, the overall energy in the room stayed flat.
At one point, after a joke flopped, Gillis turned to the crowd and said, “Lighten up.” Moments later, when another line tanked, he shrugged and said, “I didn’t write this.”
Even that got more of a reaction than most of his planned material.
Shane Gillis: “I didn’t write this: Put your hands where my eyes can see is what they say when Deshaun Watson gets a massage. I disagree as well. I swear to god, I didn’t want to tell it.” #ESPYs pic.twitter.com/NMLxFAJLOA
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 17, 2025
The crowd didn’t help matters either. Booing was reported from the mezzanine as per People, and several athletes could be seen exchanging blank stares after punchlines.
Gillis had all the ingredients: a star-studded audience, fresh headlines, and license to roast. But for whatever reason – maybe the delivery, maybe the material – the set just didn’t connect.
Still, if nothing else, he gave Gilgeous-Alexander a rare moment at an awards show: being roasted for his free throws instead of being celebrated for them.
