Mark Cuban challenges tradition despite Giannis Antetokounmpo's rage: "I'd give the ball to the rookie"

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in the news after an altercation over the game ball with the Indiana Pacers players on the night he scored a career-high 64 points. There have been many takes on social media right after the incident and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has also chimed in.

The incident occurred right after the game. The former league MVP was visibly angry at Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, asking him to fetch the ball that he scored 64 points with.

The situation escalated as Antetokounmpo ran through the tunnel leading to the Indiana Pacers locker room asking for the ball. The 'Greek Freak' later claimed he wanted to gift the ball to teammate Damian Lillard, who went past Kyle Korver in the NBA All-Time 3-pointers made. Lillard is now fifth on the list with 2,451 3-pointers made.

The Pacers players reportedly wanted to give the ball as a souvenir to Oscar Tshiebwe who scored his first basket in the NBA.

In an interview with TMZ, Mav's Mark Cuban replied that he would have given the ball to the rookie instead of Antetokounmpo.

"If you have a rookie who's never scored before in an NBA game, that's a big deal that only happens once. So, I'd give the ball to the rookie," said Cuban.

Mark Cuban proposes a compromise that Giannis Antetokounmpo could have taken

Scoring 64 points in an NBA game is a rare feat and usually, the player who had his career-high gets to take home the ball as a tradition.

Cuban instead proposed that Giannis Antetokounmpo should have taken home the box score instead and framed it as his souvenir.

"With situations like that," Cuban said, "I'd take the box score, I'd get his teammates to sign it and I'd frame it for him. Sixty-four is a big deal. It rarely, rarely, rarely happens. And for Giannis it was a big deal, but if it's my home game, unless the rookie says it's OK, I'm giving the ball to the rookie."

The Milwaukee Bucks now hold a 17-7 record, keeping them at the top of the NBA Central Division. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a standout performance with 64 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and a 24-of-32 free throw success. Their next opponents are the Detroit Pistons on December 16 and they go back-to-back with the Houston Rockets the following day.