Memphis Grizzlies Scorekeeper Accused Of Posting Fraudulent Stats For Jaren Jackson Jr.

The Memphis Grizzlies are now involved in a new controversy around the NBA.

Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies are in the eye of the storm once again as their scorekeeper has been accused of posting inflating numbers for Jaren Jackson Jr., a solid candidate to win the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year award. 

This situation started on Reddit after user "AdMassive6666" alleged that they found something fishy in the way the Grizzlies report Jackson's stats, starting a huge situation that went beyond Reddit, made it to social media and it's now being investigated by the NBA itself. 

The reason behind this is that Jackson is recording nearly twice as many steals and blocks at home than he's doing when he's away. The Redditor shared a graphic showing the comparison to back up their claim.

I am referring to Jaren Jackson Jr., who, after having missed ~16 games to start the season due to off-season foot surgery immediately started having extreme outlier high steals + blocks statistics, leading the entire NBA in blocks per game by a wide margin. In fewer minutes per game than other players Jaron Jackson repeatedly gets outlandish block numbers at home.

This post blew up on Reddit and it reaches new dimensions, creating a big drama around the league. 

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Memphis Grizzlies Scorekeeper Under Fire For Allegedly Posting Fraudulent Jaren Jackson Jr. Stats 

This allegation wasn't taken that slightly by the NBA, and Fred Katz reports that some within the league paid a lot of attention to it and the things the Redditor wrote. Katz states that the Grizzlies are using the same official scorer from last season, but then he clarified that the NBA is in charge of reviewing stats like steals and blocks in real time.

"This post is making its way around the league now, not just the internet. For what it's worth, I checked in, and the Grizzlies use the same official scorer this season as they used last season."

Someone who knows the process just corrected me on this. Leaving up the above tweet so that people see the correction:

Official scorers actually don't handle stats like this. They handle fouls. NBA reviews stats like blocks and steals in real time.

Each team has inputters/callers, which are different than official scorers. One of the callers who's at the game with a headset will have input with tracking stats in real time.

Things have gotten so so serious that bets are off the board for the Defensive Player of the Year award, a prize Jackson is a favorite to win this year. 

Kevin O'Connor of the Ringer went in a lengthy thread to debunk that Reddit post, claiming that only "3 of [Jackson's] 66 home blocks are incorrectly labeled". 

The Memphis Grizzlies have been under fire this season for their daring behavior on and off the court and how they treat rivals while winning. The league is keeping taps on whatever they do and many would take the opportunity to get revenge on the Grizz. 

Of course, we're not accusing anyone of doing this on purpose, but now the team will have to find a solution to this situation, which has already gotten out of proportion. 

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