Watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo tries to 'stat pad' his way to a triple-double
Nikola Jokic has been called a "stat padder" this season, but he's never been as blatant about it as Giannis Antetokounmpo was Sunday.
As time ran out on the Bucks' 117-111 win over the Washington Wizards, Antetokounmpo grabbed a rebound, dodged a halfhearted foul attempt and dribbled down to the hoop. Then the Greek Freak softly tossed the ball off the backboard to himself, getting his 10th rebound with seconds remaining, which along with his 23 points and 13 assists got him a triple-double, smiling the whole time.
The NBA wasn't amused.
Officially Antetokounmpo finished with a 23/9/13 line after the league rescinded the final board. It's probably the right decision not to reward blatant stat padding, but there's likely another reason: gambling.
Gambling may be worth as much as $600 million annually to the NBA. Since the Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting, it's hard to avoid references to point spreads, over/unders and parlays, even within game broadcasts.
This means that triple-doubles aren't simply a novelty stat for the NBA. They're a common part of prop bets and parlays. Whether a player falls just short of a triple-double, or even a double-digit total in any category, the gambling swing can involve huge amounts of money. Rescinding Antetokounmpo's triple-double is a way to assure sportsbooks and legislators that NBA games are on the up-and-up.
It wasn't most blatant triple-double attempt the NBA has ever seen. That dubious honor goes to Ricky Davis, who took a shot at his own basket, with a 25-point lead, to get his 10th rebound and his first career triple-double in 2003.
Utah's DeShawn Stevenson wasn't amused, shoving Davis as time expired. His own team fined him, Davis was embarrassed and, worst of all, he didn't even get the triple-double — shots taken at your own basket don't count as field goal attempts.
Regardless, no one should be disqualified for MVP consideration due to perceived stat padding, or you might have to eliminate the entire league. Jokic critics should also "rescind" their stat-padding complaints.
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