Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's lawyers send cease and desist to Underdog Sports over fake board game

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been the subject of online criticism during the Oklahoma City Thunder’s run in the Western Conference Finals. It’s now to the point where lawyers are being involved.

According to Jason Jones of The Athletic, Gilgeous-Alexander’s lawyers have sent a cease and desist letter to Underdog Sports, an online daily fantasy sports platform, over a fake board game that poked fun at the NBA’s back-to-back MVP.

The controversy was sparked when Phoenix Suns guard Dillon Brooks, a self-proclaimed villain in the league, collaborated with Underdog Sports last Thursday for a video. The 54-second clip was showing off a fake (and clearly AI-made) version of the famous board game Operation, which was titled Unethical Hoops. It featured the buzzer going off (acting as a whistle for a foul call) anytime Gilgeous-Alexander’s character was touched.

The main issue? Underdog Sports was using Gilgeous-Alexander’s NIL without his permission as a way to market the company, which was planning to give away 100 copies of the fake foul-baiting game.

The Athletic obtained the cease and desist letter, which was dated May 22, one day after the video was released. It demands that Underdog Sports “permanently cease and desist from any and all use of Mr. Gilgeous-Alexander’s NIL in any and all media, including but not limited to your website (including the Unethical Hoops Website), apps, social media accounts, digital marketing and advertisements, promotional emails, push notifications, affiliate or influencer placements, and any physical goods including but not limited to the board game advertised on the Unethical Hoops Website.”

The website to join the giveaway is still currently active and says winners will be announced on Friday, May 29.

Unethical Hoops, coming soon… pic.twitter.com/ANdHV4JTjr

— Underdog (@Underdog) May 21, 2026

Gilgeous-Alexander has been the talk of the Western Conference Finals so far. He has the Thunder leading the San Antonio Spurs 3-2 with a massive Game 6 opportunity set for Thursday night in Texas. The former Kentucky star has made more free throws (120) than field goals (114) so far this postseason. It’s created a massive storm of wild takes all across social media. Spurs fans are calling him a “flopper” during games, and media members are tracking the number of times he falls down during games.

On the flip side, Gilgeous-Alexander is second in total drives in the playoffs, per the NBA. Viral videos attempting to showcase his exaggerated contact only end up proving that he is drawing real fouls the vast majority of the time. There are also clips showing him being held off-ball by Spurs defenders. And yet, he’s still averaging 28 points and 8.2 assists per game in these playoffs on shooting splits of 46.3/32.7/89.6 despite the Thunder missing its top two secondary ball handlers in Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell due to injury.

Yes, SGA will embellish physicality at times — just like most of the best players in the NBA do. He is far from the only one who looks to create contact, but he’s won two straight MVPs and might just win a second straight championship, too. That makes him an easy target for fans of opposing teams, especially the ones in San Antonio.

Admittedly, the video with Brooks was funny. But OKC did sweep Brooks and the Suns in the first round of the playoffs. There’s certainly some jealousy from his side. If anything, this whole ordeal was just another reason why the discourse surrounding SGA has gotten way too far out of hand.