The Milwaukee Bucks went to battle with the Washington Wizards last night and ultimately won the game, thanks to a great performance from their star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak was everywhere on the court on Sunday and finished the 117-111 road win over the Wizards with a triple-double. However, the 2x MVP achieved his triple-double in a strange way that drew polarizing reactions from the NBA world.
The Bucks came into this game on the back of a disheartening loss against the Philadelphia 76ers last night. While the attention quickly shifted to the Wizards, there was one big talking point from the game. Fans took a dig at Antetokounmpo for his late-game antics to record a triple-double. Even Portland Trail Blazers superstar, Damian Lillard commented on Giannis’ actions.
Giannis Antetokounmpo admitted to stealing one rebound
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In the final seconds of the game with the victory secured, it seemed Giannis was going to dribble out the clock. However, he stopped in front of the Wizards’ basket and suddenly threw himself a rebound at the buzzer to get a triple-double. This play from the Greek Freak surprised everyone in the arena, including the commentators, as they couldn’t understand if the rebound was counted. However, upon verifying with the statisticians, it was confirmed that the 7x All-Star did get his triple-double.
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While speaking with ESPN after the game, Antetokounmpo uttered a few words about his way of getting the triple-double. He said, “I was thinking about scoring the ball, but I feel like in those situations it’s best to kind of keep the ball. But yeah, I just try to play the game smart and kind of stole one.”
The Bucks forward finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and a season-high 13 assists. Interestingly, this was the fourth triple-double of this season for the 28-year-old.
Damian Lillard and the NBA world ridiculed Antetokounmpo for ‘stat padding’
As soon as the aforementioned clip was shared, it received a lot of comments from fans and Damian Lillard. Dame commented, “Lmaooo”, while fans subtly took a dig at the 28-year-old for “stat padding.” Many fans seemingly disliked the way he earned his triple-double.
Here are some of the reactions of fans:
“Old heads used to do this all the time. Look it up.”
“Stat padding”
“What in the stat pad hell”
“Unfortunately for him this will actually work against him in the end”
“no way the books would count that”
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“Ruined someone’s parley for sure”
“Tryna catch up with jokic”
“Blatant stat padding “
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What are your thoughts on Giannis Antetokounmpo intentionally throwing himself a rebound just to get a triple-double? Let us know in the comments below.