This triple-double should go with an asterisk in the stat book.
Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared to deliberately pad his own stats during the final seconds of Milwaukee’s 117-111 win over the Wizards on Sunday — appearing to miss a shot on purpose when no one was around. That he could pull down his own rebound.
In the first 47 minutes and 58 seconds, Antetokounmpo had 23 points, 13 assists… and nine rebounds.
“I was thinking about scoring the ball, but I think it’s best to keep the ball in those situations,” Antetokounmpo said. “But yeah, I just try to play the game smart and stealth.”
The extra board at the buzzer gave him a triple-double.
“No it’s the greatest Stepped of all time,” A Twitter user wrote, complementing the post with three crying emojis.
Giannis is in the thick of the MVP race, currently tied with Joel Embiid as the second-favorite at BetMGM, with both players trailing a heavy favorite in Nikola Jokic.
Jokic has an NBA-leading 25 triple-doubles on the season, Antetokounmpo has just four, even after the bonus on a Sunday night.
The Nuggets star center appears to have run away from the race, serving as a -360 favorite at BetMGM (about a 78 percent chance to win).
Still, there’s no stirring for one of the league’s top stars to boost his own stat profile at the end of a regular-season game.
