Devonte Graham of the Charlotte Hornets had a lousy night Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. Sure, the Hornets won 102-94, but Graham struggled from the field, shooting 2-for-14, with both baskets three-pointers.
At least, that’s what the NBA official scorekeepers had to say.
But one bettor — one who had Graham at over 2.5 three-pointers in a FanDuel Sportsbook five-leg parlay — had a different opinion. In fact, he claimed Graham took a 15th shot, credited to LaMelo Ball, from beyond the arc. And that extra shot fell. Which would’ve cashed the $10 parlay at +3515 odds.
And he had the video to prove it.
The bettor — who goes by the Twitter handle @kiiLkenny — alerted the world to his plight with this tweet: “YOOO if you played my ‘first five’ parlay from The Moonshot last night, email / DM @FDSportsbook and let them know they made a mistake on Devonte Graham. He hit 3 threes. Every single stats site incorrectly credits his 3 with 2:12 left in the 3rdQ to Ball. Watch the highlights.”
And the highlights do indeed prove @kiiLkenny’s beef, which he predictably took to FanDuel customer support.
last tweet about this for now but here are all 3 of Graham's made 3s from last night. @FDSportsbook & @DKSportsbook still refuse to pay out Graham over 2.5 threes tickets. DO THE RIGHT THING. @darrenrovell @Paranormal_Bass @Parlays4DaysPod @stoolpresidente @Pontifex https://t.co/T34NRDiRlx
— kenny 🚀 (@kiiLkenny) January 7, 2021
And FanDuel customer support confirmed the video highlights, but at first refused to pay out the bet, citing its terms and conditions.
“They [the terms and conditions] state that we grade these prop bets based on the official boxscore which is found on sites like nba.com and espn.com,” the customer service representative noted.
Enough is enough. This is @FDSportsbook official response as to why they won’t be honoring WINNING Devonte Graham ov 2.5 threes tickets. Because the NBA, AN OFFICIAL PARTNER OF FANDUEL, got it wrong, it stays a loss.
Still looking into this @darrenrovell ?? @Mike5754 pic.twitter.com/JBpB3RCvsP
— kenny 🚀 (@kiiLkenny) January 7, 2021
But while this was going on, ESPN up and made the change to Graham’s stats, nearly 20 hours after the game ended. Shortly thereafter, NBA.com followed suit.
FanDuel to the rescue
Once the stat changes were officially made, FanDuel’s customer support team took to Twitter to settle the matter and make things right.
“All wagers made on Devonte Graham to score over 2.5 three pointers yesterday (1/6) have now been resettled as wins with winnings now paid out! Any previously settled wagers made on the under will also remain as winners.”
All wagers made on Devonte Graham to score over 2.5 three pointers yesterday (1/6) have now been resettled as wins with winnings now paid out! Any previously settled wagers made on the under will also remain as winners. https://t.co/g7msV5sGms
— FD Customer Support (@FanDuel_Support) January 7, 2021
So ultimately, FanDuel ends up on the hook for an official NBA stat error. They should probably post an angry tweet @NBA.
As of this writing, there is no word from other sportsbooks who had the Graham prop wrong, or, for that matter, any word from FanDuel or DraftKings concerning the stat correction as it applies to daily fantasy sports contests.
Pennsylvania gaming board weighs in
Doug Harbach, the director of Communications of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, weighed in on the afternoon controversy via email. And it appears the state has procedures in place to deal with such a scenario.
“The books have House Rules that dictate instances such as this,” Harbach said. “If we were to receive a formal complaint, we can research and make a determination as to whether the bets should be paid out. We could have them paid out if the facts justify it. We have a link on our website to do so at https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/?p=110.”
For those interested — or for those who Graham over 2.5 three-pointers last night (or, heaven forbid, had Graham in an NBA DFS lineup that finished two points out of the money — or first place), the process begins with filing a formal complaint with the operator. Once that is done, that’s when the complaint can be kicked up to the commonwealth.
The form asks for the normal personal information, and then asks which site the issue is with, the screen name used, the ticket or complaint number from the operator, and leaves plenty of space to detail exactly what happened.
