Every season, it seems that an arch-nemesis of the New York Knicks manages to emerge.
Whether it's Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller of the 1990s or Trae Young and Tyrese Haliburton of the 2020s, it's become somewhat of a trend that the game's biggest and brightest stars tend to get a kick out of besting the Knickerbockers in gut-punch fashion.
Here in 2025-26, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has laid out his claim to enter into this villainous conversation.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander now public enemy number one for Knicks
One game seems to have been all it took for the reigning MVP to become New York's newest public enemy number one, as he foul-baited and contact-initiated his team's way to a down-to-the-wire 103-100 win, extinguishing Jalen Brunson and company's three-game win streak.
The real kicker for his Haliburton replacement case came with just over a minute remaining in regulation, where SGA splashed home the game-sealing step-back triple in the face of OG Anunoby, where he then made a shooting arrow gesture toward his teammates and the Garden crowd.
Following the contest, while donning a subtle smirk behind a abominable snowman-esque coat, Gilgeous-Alexander acknowledged that his goal down the stretch was to "have my imprint on the game, especially late," and later admitted that playing at MSG is "always a get-up game" for him.
Without question, his play matched this kind of mentality (26 points, eight assists, three rebounds, and a steal), and, unfortunately, the Knicks paid the price.
Knicks infuriated by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's flopping
Over the last several seasons, Gilgeous-Alexander has built up a reputation for being the league's newest free throw merchant, a moniker bestowed to someone believed to rely heavily on their foul line activity to inflate their scoring numbers.
Following the contest, Knicks head coach Mike Brown couldn't help but lambast the 27-year-old for these kinds of antics, as he told reporters that he's one of the best players in the league at "convincing the referees... that he's getting hit."
Now, granted, SGA only attempted seven free throws on the night against New York, but two came off a highly questionable call against Karl-Anthony Towns in the closing minutes of the game that not only extended OKC's lead to eight, but also sent the All-Star center to the pine with his sixth personal.
Needless to say, New York's headman is irate with how this trend has continued, and is now bringing more public attention to the matter in hopes of some sort of resolution ahead of New York's next matchup against the Thunder on March 29.