During a rout between the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter of the 2023 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the oddest occurrence occurred.
Late in the game, with Dallas well on its way to a rout, big man Marcus Bingham Jr.
collected a pass from a teammate and ran down the court in what appeared to be the wrong direction for what looked like a dunk on the wrong basket.
How could an NBA player score on the incorrect basket, even in Summer League, was the question on outlets’ minds as they quickly clipped the video and posted it online.
The viral video omitted the fact that the refs mishandled the entire play and ultimately waived off Bingham’s dunk, despite the fact that he did score on the right basket.
Watch the play here, along with a tweet from Bingham proving he wasn’t mistaken.
This is what transpired:
The Mavericks made a three-pointer to increase their advantage to 104-78. Indiana’s coach called a timeout as the team rushed the ball to halfcourt.
For whatever reason, the officials handed the Mavs the ball and told them to shoot towards the basket that the Pacers were aiming for.
Bingham intercepted a pass from a teammate and rushed to the other hoop to dunk on the proper basket after realizing his team wasn’t meant to aim at that point.
When the play was declared dead by the officials, the Pacers were eventually given the ball and instructed to shoot at the proper goal. The bucket of Bingham was ineligible.
Given a comparable situation from this past season, it’s especially strange that this happened to Dallas.
The officials set up the play on the incorrect end of a March game between the Warriors and Mavs, giving the Warriors a free shot. The league rejected a protest that Mark Cuban had submitted. One of the worst blunders of the year, it.
How do the Mavericks continually get up in this predicament?
In addition to giving rookie referees a chance to showcase their skills, Summer League serves as an audition for players looking to break into the league. For either party, it’s not always pleasant.
