Dave McMenaminNov 16, 2025, 01:40 AM ET
- Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
- Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.
MILWAUKEE — With the Los Angeles Lakers leading by as many as 31 points in Saturday’s 119-95 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks, the only drama of the evening came after the final buzzer, when Lakers players tried to secure the game ball to present to their rookie teammate after he scored his first NBA points.
After Lakers rookie Adou Thiero scored four points, including a raucous dunk in the final minute, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt held on to the game ball when the game ended and held it under his left arm as he exchanged postgame pleasantries with several Bucks players.
Before Vanderbilt could take the ball back to the locker room, however, crew chief Pat Fraher approached Vanderbilt, took the ball away from him and then walked the ball to center court to present it to a Bucks team attendant.
“I went to grab the ball,” Vanderbilt said. “The rookie scored his first points. That’s what happens in the league.”
Fraher told the Lakers players that the ball belonged to the Bucks.
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“He said it’s not my ball to give away, which was like … I’ve never heard that,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said.
Vanderbilt said the referee told him he planned to discipline him for his actions.
“[Fraher] said he’s going to write me up,” Vanderbilt told ESPN. “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. I don’t know what he was reaching for. That’s been a thing since way before I was in the league. What, was he going to take the ball home or something?”
Noticing the commotion at center court, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo intervened by taking the ball from the team attendant and handing it to Lakers star Luka Doncic.
“That shows a lot of class,” Reaves said of Antetokounmpo.
And it showed some growth.
The custody battle over the game ball was far less contentious than the last time a situation like this occurred in Milwaukee nearly two years ago when the Indiana Pacers were trying to get the ball to give to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe on the same night that Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 64 points, leading to a heated confrontation in the back hallway.
This time had a happy ending, with Doncic presenting the ball in the locker room to Thiero, who made his NBA debut Saturday after missing the first 13 games of the season while recovering from an April surgical procedure on his left knee.
“At first I didn’t realize it was all for me,” said Thiero, selected by the Lakers with the No. 36 pick in the second round after L.A. traded up twice on draft night to take him. “But I’m very thankful for this team. I think that shows how connected we are and how much we want each other to succeed.”
Thiero (rhymes with “hero”) was one of several bench contributors against the Bucks, as L.A. dealt with two late scratches to the starting lineup — Marcus Smart (illness) and Rui Hachimura (sore left calf) — and continues to await LeBron James’ return from sciatica, which could occur as soon as Tuesday against the Utah Jazz.
The victory gave the Lakers a 3-2 record to complete their five-game road trip, bringing them to 10-4 overall, No. 4 in the Western Conference standings.
“Either way, I’m glad he got [the game ball],” Vanderbilt said of Thiero. “He deserves it. That’s a big-time achievement, accomplishment, scoring your first NBA points. Especially in a win.”
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