Stat padding isn’t something that’s new in the NBA, but with more and more eyes on the league now, more people are starting to realize it.
Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins said it wasn’t a new thing, and many people thought he was lying.
A couple of days later, Giannis Antetokounmpo proved him right.
In a game against the Wizards on Sunday night, Giannis was a rebound away from a triple-double with the game pretty much over. He was dribbling the clock out, then took a “shot” and missed on purpose to get the last rebound he needed.
He grabbed a defensive rebound with about nine seconds left, knowing that left him one rebound short of 10. He hustled the ball downcourt, got near the rim the Bucks were shooting at, hesitated for a moment, and then intentionally threw the ball into the bottom of the rim before catching it.
He got a lot of criticism for it and after seeing the video, the NBA took the rebound away. According to the rules, a player must shoot with the intent of making the shot. Giannis clearly didn’t have any intent on making the shot so it wasn’t a shot.
“Kind of stole one,” Antetokounmpo acknowledged Sunday night.
On-site statisticians credited him with a missed shot and a 10th rebound from that play. The NBA reviews all stats from each game and regularly makes changes to correct errors or omissions, and it removed the last rebound Monday. According to league rules, for a field goal attempt to count as official, the player has to shoot “with intent to score a field goal.”
Milwaukee won 117-111. Antetokounmpo finished, officially, with 23 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds. The stat adjustment dropped his rebound average from 11.94 per game to 11.92 — but his shooting percentage, with the missed “shot” also erased, improved from .538 to .539.
Giannis will have to get his 4th triple-double the traditional way next time.
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