Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks said he “stole” a triple double on Sunday. Now the NBA took it away from him.
Antetokounmpo had 23 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his fourth triple double of the season in a 117-111 win away at the Washington Wizards. At least that was the status after the end of the game on Sunday.
The last rebound seconds before the end, however, only came about because Giannis ran across the floor again after a defensive rebound – his ninth in the game – hesitated briefly and obviously deliberately threw the ball to the bottom edge of the ring before he caught it again himself. The officials in the hall credited him with another rebound, which sealed the triple double.
On Monday, however, the NBA conceded the final rebound with reference to the rules. It states that a shot attempt only counts as such if the player “throws the ball with the intention of scoring a basket”. And according to the league, the Greek didn’t do that, so there was no rebound either.
NBA: Giannis’ hit rate increases
That led to two more stats adjustments: First, Antetokounmpo’s rebound average dropped from 11.94 to 11.92. On the other hand, his throw rate increased again, from .538 to .539.
The NBA reviews stats after every game and often makes corrections, so this was a normal process.
