A stat reveals that since 2018-19, LeBron James only has one less free throw missed in clutch than Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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The Greek Freak missed a game-tying free throw on Wednesday as the Bucks lost their season opener to the Celtics. The game went down to the wire as Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday exchanged leads for their sides. Tatum’s incredible stepback that he banked in with 0.4 seconds left gave the Cs the decisive lead on the night.
Giannis got a phantom foul call on the inbounds play after this shot. He would’ve gotten 2 free throws and an inbounds pass had he made both. But his miss on the game-tying attempt meant the Bucks lost the game.
His missed free throw meant that Giannis had missed 25 free throws in clutch over the past 2 seasons and change. He was tied with LeBron at 24 misses before this.
LeBron James has worse clutch stats than Giannis Antetokounmpo over the last 2 seasons
A Twitter user named Dean Maniatt shared the shocking stat which shows how disproportionately large the amount of flak received by Giannis is.
He was literally tied with LeBron James at 24 missed Free Throws until the game yesterday. https://t.co/1QtRbD5h5j
— Dean Maniatt (@AllTheBucks) December 25, 2020
Since the start of the 2018-2019 season, LeBron James has shot 55/141 (39.0%) in clutch time.
Since the start of the 2018-2019 season, Giannis Antetokounmpo has shot 58/101 (57.4%) in clutch time.
— Dean Maniatt (@AllTheBucks) December 25, 2020
James is shooting lower than 40% in clutch periods over the past 2 seasons and change. He routinely takes terrible shots in the period after closing down all other options. The ones that stick in our minds are his makes, but we’ve seen players called unclutch for a lot less.
The fact that we’re not treating LeBron and Giannis with the same respect highlights double standards among NBA fans. But that isn’t something to think about a lot, is it?