Giannis Antetokounmpo takes a lot of free throws. He has now led the NBA in free throws per game three years in a row, and that wouldn’t be especially notable outside of a gameplay context were it not for one of Antetokounmpo’s more annoying habits: He takes forever to shoot. NBA players are allowed 10 seconds to shoot free throws, and Antetokounmpo has been called for several violations of that limit throughout his career.
Naturally, this leads opposing fans to count out loud while he’s at the line in an apparent effort to both troll the two-time MVP and to remind officials that they are supposed to whistle him when he takes too long. On Tuesday, though, one Indiana Pacers fan took things to the next level during Game 2 of their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks: He brought a homemade clock and held it up when Antetokounmpo shot facing his basket.
So, here’s the million-dollar question: Did the clock work? Was Antetokounmpo meaningfully distracted by the timer being waved in his face? Well … yes and no. The Pacers did win Game 2, 123-115,taking a 2-0 lead in the series and putting Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on the back foot as things shift to Milwaukee for Game 3.
However, Antetokounmpo didn’t exactly struggle at the free-throw line. He shot 6-of-10 — not great, but in line with his season-long free-throw percentage of 61.7%. He was great in the game as a whole too, finishing with 34 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists.
He did, however, miss a key layup with just under two minutes remaining, so if the fans in Indiana want to believe that a clock shook him enough to swing the outcome of the game, well, they can at least lean on that as the evidence they need to hand-make more time-keeping devices if the series makes its way back to Indianapolis.
