The Milwaukee Bucks picked up a 117-111 win on the road vs the Washington Wizards yesterday. They were a lethal (.449) percent from deep last night knocking down 22 three’s. It was a normal game until the final seconds when superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo did something controversial. He intentionally missed a layup right under the basket and rebounded his own shot to secure his 10th rebounds and a triple-double on the night.
This is commonly referred to as “stat padding” and it’s frowned upon by some around the league. Antetokounmpo could have easily finished the game with nine rebounds, but he got selfish and went for the triple-double in a cheap way.
It was his fourth triple-double of the season. Wisconsin Sports Betting sites have the Bucks at (+500) to win the Finals this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo needed one rebound to get a triple double then this happened 😂😱 pic.twitter.com/Su91ZY0jGo
— ClutchPoints Betting (@CPBetting) March 6, 2023
Antetkounmpo “stat padded” his way to a triple-double vs the Wizards last night and even he knew it
Giannis secured his ninth rebound of the game last night with around 10 seconds left in the game and Milwaukee had a six-point lead. The Wizards were not playing defense and the two-time MVP lightly dribbled the ball to the opposite end of the court.
He then intentionally missed a layup less than three seconds left on the clock and secured the miss. That gave him his 10th rebound of the night and his fourth triple-double on the season. Stubborn NBA fans will call this “stat padding”, but it’s a smart move by Giannis.
The Wizards defense chose not to guard him in the finals seconds and Giannis tool advantage of that. He also finished the game with 23 points and a season-high 13 assists in Milwaukee’s win. Other players this season like Nikola Jokic have been accused of “stat padding”. However, that’s not the case.
Former players and analysts have accused Jokic of “stat padding” to try and average a triple-double on the season. The way he’s going about it is not the same way Giannis did last night. Rebounds and points come east for Jokic, but he has to work for the assists and gets accused of “stat padding” in that aspect. Try and stop him if you don’t want to see him put up a triple-double.
