Apart from a select few high draft picks, most participants in the NBA Summer League are simply trying to survive. They will not, in all likelihood, become All-Stars, but they may come to provide valuable roster depth in the G League or overseas.
With this in mind, Mavericks forward Marcus Bingham Jr. appeared to make a career-halting mistake Friday evening by scoring on the wrong basket. However, he was vindicated after the fact.
With Dallas nursing a 104–78 lead late in the fourth quarter against the Pacers, the Mavericks were mistakenly awarded possession and pointed toward their own basket. Bingham Jr. alertly realized this, snared guard Nike Sibande's pass, and dribbled unguarded to a dunk on Indiana's net.
Out of context, it looked like Bingham Jr. had lost his marbles, and many media outlets interpreted the sequence that way.
Adding insult to injury, Bingham Jr. had his heads-up play waved off. The longtime Michigan State stalwart took to Twitter to defend his actions.
I wasn’t wrong 😂😂😂 media a do anything https://t.co/IHWrTdDT9D
— Marcus Bingham Jr (@marcusbingham0) July 15, 2023
As for the officials: well, it's their Summer League, too.
