Who owns an NBA game-used basketball?
How about when there is a milestone achievement involved?
Well, the answer might depend on whether you’re an unaccomplished rookie (such as the Lakers’ Adou Thiero) or one of the faces of the league (such as Giannis Antetokounmpo).
The debate played out in real time Saturday night after the Lakers’ 119-95 victory in Milwaukee, when Thiero’s Los Angeles teammates tried to collect the game ball for him after he scored the first five points of his career, including a thunderous dunk, in the final minutes of the blowout.
Giannis secured the game ball for Lakers rookie Adou Thiero after scoring his first NBA points. pic.twitter.com/9BwecS0pdy
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 16, 2025
While securing the game ball for a player’s first points is an unwritten tradition in the league, an overzealous referee stepped in to claim possession of the ball.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt had the ball as time expired and tucked it under his arm as the teams began to shake hands.
“I went to grab the ball. The rookie scored his first points. That’s what happens in this league,” Vanderbilt told ESPN.
Before Vanderbilt could get the ball to Thiero, a second-round pick making his NBA debut, officiating crew chief Pat Fraher took the ball away and gave it to a Bucks team official.
Vanderbilt went on to tell ESPN that Fraher even threatened to “write him up.”
“I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about. These refs, they just want to have their power or something, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know what he was reaching for. That’s been a thing since way before I was in the league.”
Lakers guard Austin Reaves was equally perplexed.
“He said it’s not my ball to give away, which was like … I’ve never heard that,” Reaves said.
Enter Antetokounmpo to solve the issue and make sure the rookie got his game ball.
The Bucks star got the ball from the team official — who in the Milwaukee organization is going to say no to the Greek Freak? — and gave it to Lakers star Luka Dončić, who presented the ball to Thiero in the locker room.
“At first, I didn’t realize it was all for me, but I’m very thankful for this team,” Thiero told ESPN.
Ironically, Antetokounmpo was also involved in one of the other high-profile debates over a game ball, when the Pacers and Bucks clashed two seasons ago. Indiana wanted to give the ball to rookie Oscar Thiebwe, while the Bucks wanted the ball to go to Antetokounmpo after he scored a career-high 64 points. A confrontation ensued in the tunnel.
While the basketballs do technically belong to the home team, common sense should always prevail. Players should end up with the game balls from the most meaningful nights of their career.
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