Carmelo Anthony explains what led to funny in-game gaffe

Carmelo Anthony punched a one-way ticket to “Shaqtin’ A Fool” with a complete brain fart during Tuesday’s season opener against Golden State. Now he is explaining what led to the hilarious moment.

The new Los Angeles Lakers forward committed a funny gaffe in the third quarter when he pump-faked on a free throw instead of shooting it, leading to a violation. Take a look:

Lmao Carmelo Anthony pump faked the free throw 😂pic.twitter.com/5QMFLQV8jY

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 20, 2021

Anthony explained on Thursday that the fake was the result of accidentally bumping the ball against his head as he rose up to shoot the free throw, per Kyle Goon of Southern California News Group. That messed up Anthony’s rhythm, and he ultimately made the business decision to take the violation instead of firing up an airball.

The 37-year-old Anthony has shot over 8,000 free throws in his NBA career, but this is most likely the first time that he has ever pump-faked on one. The Lakers ended up losing by six points, so they probably could have used that wasted free throw too. But hey, at least it wasn’t as bad as this free-throw attempt by one of Anthony’s new teammates.