The thing about stat padding is that only the best players can do it.
In the PBA, the biggest culprit of this would be allegedly, Arwind Santos. Throughout his career, Spiderman has been in the Mythical Team conversation because he averages at least one in assists, steals, and blocks to go with almost double-double points and rebounds.
I assure you, he is not stat padding. Santos has the tendency to be all over the place in offense and extremely annoying in defense. Arwind has almost, a “PBA career” quadruple-double in the sense that he’s a championship and two All-Defensive Teams away from having a club with ten Mythical teams, ten All-Star participation, ten All-Defensive Teams, and ten championships.
June Mar Fajardo is actually another player in that route, but he is a more “boss” version of the feat as he has already nine Best Player of the Conference awards to go with nine championships, eight all-stars, and eight Mythical Team selections.
And if you say Arwind Santos is still a stat padder, then let’s raise the argument that Ramon Fernandez also is in that conversation because averages at least a one in steals and blocks to go with at least ten points, five rebounds, and three assists in his first 18 seasons in the league.
The Franchise played in 20 seasons.
Of course, Fernandez is NOT a stat padder.
It’s not stat padding when you’re good.
When a hater says stat padding, I translate his words and turn them into a better term.
Import-like numbers.
With that said, there are instances. The thing where Giannis Antetokounmpo mimicked Ricky Davis? That’s stat padding to make the triple-double. Accomplishing the feat via an uncontested motion when the outcome is already known is an obvious stat pad.
Accomplishing a feat within a hard-fought game or within the 46-minute mark is NOT stat padding.
If it’s a missed layup en route to a rebound and a putback, then why did the opposing team let the said player do it? Regardless of the intention, you can’t fault a player for trying his best. In this case, the player is trying his best to accomplish a feat.
If it was me, I’d let Giannis keep his triple-double. I understand that it’s a cheap victory but the only reason why people hate it is that he did it in the last ten seconds. If I was Adam Silver, I’d make a rule in which a player can’t accomplish a statistical anomaly like a triple-double if the winner is already determined, it’s their own goal, the shot clock has ceased to exist, and if at least three players from each team aren’t attacking or defending.
In the PBA, well… Pinoys aren’t as buzzkill as other leagues. Sure, there were times when there were instances when players went overboard, but they can laugh up antics for as long as it’s not game-altering. Aside from tolerance, we know better than most folks. Passion drives us but in the end, haters will understand the rationale behind situations.
This is why I found the comments of Kendrick Perkins on Nikola Jokic odd. I am not a basketball player so I am happy about the comments of JJ Redick, Draymond Green, and Charles Barkley. It got to a point where Perkins had to raise the race card to make a statement.
Here’s the weird thing about putting up the race card on international players…
Aren’t they the minority here?
Iceland’s Petur Guomundsson became the first European player who got into basketball in his homeland to play in the NBA when he saw action for the Portland Trail Blazers in 1981. In 150 games from 1981 to 1989, Guomundsson averaged 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.
Guess what his nickname is?
Ice Man.
Because he came from Iceland.
Yey!
Anyway, the first Euro to make a statement is Drazen Petrovic. Petro is a beast but he is also a victim of circumstance as like most of his contemporaries, he had to endure homesickness, a language barrier, a culture clash, and the difference between Euro ball and NBA game. As what I said in my Pau Gasol article, the entries of Dirk Nowitzki, Gasol, Peja Stojakovic, Andrei Kirilenko, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Yao Ming paved the way for the Europeans to be recognizable NBA franchise players. Just imagine if players like Petrovic, Toni Kukoc, Arvydas Sabonis, Vlade Divac, Dino Radja, Fernando Martin, and Andrew Gaze started their careers at a time when the league has recognized that Europeans are far from token starters and dependable second-stringers?
So yeah, maybe if this is Larry Bird, Dave Cowens, and even Canadian-born Steve Nash (did not include the Canadians because they are close to the United States), then Perk could be right. However, for a Serbian who debuted a season after getting selected in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft, you just can’t use the race card.
Whether it’s Jokic, Luka Doncic, Nikola Vucevic, or a random Euro player whose surname ends with an “ic” or a “is” or a “ski”, you can’t say that they are privileged because of the trials they endured in joining the NBA. Thomas Robinson is the fifth pick of the 2012 NBA Draft and he was picked ahead of Damian Lillard as well as second-rounders Draymond Green and Khris Middleton. In 313 games, Robinson averaged just 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds. Yet, Darko Milicic, a player who had career averages of 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 468 games, is more of a bust just because he is a highly-touted Euro picked ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade. The same can be said with Yi Jianlian, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, and Jan Vesely. I wonder what their careers would have been like if they played without the pride and prestige of all their countrymen?
Kendrick Perkins came to the NBA as a blue-chip high schooler. Maybe if he went to college, he could have had a more polished offensive game but as it is, he is a big-time force in the middle that helped my Boston Celtics score a title in 2008. He clawed for the opportunity of getting paid and in his career, he got what he deserved. And after his playing career, he scored the chance of an analyst job which means he can talk about the sport he loves.
He touched two major subjects and I guess you can give Kendrick Perkins the “stat pad” card because it’s a worthy debate for the NBA MVP award. However, he needs to lay off on the race card.
Kai Sotto had the size, skills, and language proficiency as well as the cultural adaptability (since most American trends are also Pinoy trends) to become a project in the NBA but every team passed on him because frankly, he’s not good enough to play in the NBA. This is rich, considering that after helping us get rid of Spain, the United States would then swoop in and conquer us for almost half a century.
Most international countries can play the race card too.
It’s just a lame move.