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Ricky Davis’ Bold Failed Triple-Double Attempt Led To Him Being Nicknamed ‘Wrong Rim Ricky’

Unwritten laws of Basketball: Don’t openly pad your stats. 

Today is Ricky Davis’ birthday, which reminded me of this unreal story. March 16, 2003! With a 25-point lead and just 6 seconds remaining in the game, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Davis purposely shot and missed a layup at his own basket in a cheap attempt to notch his first career triple-double. At the time Davis had 26 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds.

Utah Jazz guard DeShawn Stevenson immediately took exception and fouled Ricky Davis hard. Following the game, Utah coach Jerry Sloan spoke on the incident and said he was “glad DeShawn tried to knock him down” and that if he were a player he “would’ve knocked him on his ass.”

In the face of a national outcry, the Cavaliers fined him an undisclosed amount for unsportsmanlike conduct. The play also led to Davis being nicknamed “Wrong Rim Ricky”.