Something isn’t adding up for one NBA fan on Reddit.
Jaren Jackson Jr.’s campaign for NBA Defensive Player of the Year has been called out by the Reddit user, who pointed out that the Grizzlies star’s defensive statistics during home games are suspiciously higher than road matchups.
The NBA has not found any mistakes on their end, however, and disputed the suspicion that the Grizzlies’ home-court scorekeeper was awarded Jackson illegitimate blocks and steals to pad his stats.
“In order to ensure the integrity of our game statistics, auditors, independent of the statisticians on-site, review all plays and stats decisions in real-time during NBA games,” the NBA’s Senior Vice President of Communications Tim Frank said in a statement . “If changes are necessary, they are made at that time or following a postgame review. All of the plays questioned in the post on Memphis games were scored consistently within the rules set forth by the NBA statisticians manual.”
After missing the start of the season due to a foot injury, the 6-foot-11 Jackson is averaging 16.2 points, 3.1 blocks, 6.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in the 33 games he has played this season.
There is a stark deviation in his stats at home compared to the road, however. Jackson is averaging 0.7 steals on the road versus 1.4 at home, and 4.1 blocks in home games compared to 2.2 in away games. Also, eight out of nine games where he recorded six or more blocks and assists combined were in Memphis.
Jackson Jr. currently has the best odds to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
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