Fowl Shots: We Investigated an NBA Conspiracy

Summary

Pablo Torre Finds Out

Episode: Fowl Shots: We Investigated an NBA Conspiracy

Date: April 24, 2025
Host: Pablo Torre | Guests/Correspondents: Amin Elhassan, Lou Dreadler, Thanasis Antetokounmpo

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into a surprisingly complex NBA conspiracy theory about the connection between missed free throws, arena chicken giveaways, and the mysterious case of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s “philanthropy” at the foul line. Pablo Torre and Curiosity Correspondent Amin Elhassan embark on a comic, journalistic investigation into whether NBA players—especially Giannis—intentionally miss free throws to give fans free chicken. Along the way: basketball psychology, origin stories, data analysis, stonewalling teams, and a chat with Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Bricken for Chicken" Phenomenon (02:17–06:08)

• What is Bricken for Chicken?

  • In many NBA arenas, when an opposing player misses two consecutive free throws, everyone gets free chicken.
  • This regional promotion is hyped in arenas but often unknown to casual fans.

• Amin recounts the now-famous incident: Philly's play-in game where the crowd erupts as Caleb Martin of the Heat misses, and a subsequent swing in win probability for the 76ers seems to follow. (03:00–04:28)

  “My, oh, my, it’s so easy to make people happy. Apparently, the chicken is very good.” – Amin Elhassan (03:00)

  • Amin argues this moment “saved the Sixers organization," with Dan Le Batard chiming in on the healing power of free chicken.

2. How the Chicken Giveaway Was Born (07:17–13:12)

• The origin is traced back to Lou Dreadler, VP of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and a Chick-fil-A franchisee.

• Early experiment: if Wizards players missed, fans might boo them. Instead, the focus became the opposing team missing, ensuring home support and a positive arena vibe.

  “Let’s concentrate on the visiting team doing something that'll generate excitement for ours.” – Lou Dreadler (08:54)

• The promotion’s business model is “recession-proof”—valid until the final buzzer, even if the home team is losing badly.

3. Expansion and Player Reactions (11:03–15:12)

• Players like Marcin Gortat became folk heroes, egging on crowds, scoring free catered chicken, and even demanding lower thresholds for giveaways.

• Gortat lobbied for rules tweaking—joking about Communist Russia and more frequent chicken rewards.

• Soon, half the NBA had some variation; the Wizards, once instigators, became targets.

  “I think I fed the whole city of Philadelphia.” – Colby Jones, after missing four in a row (13:02)

• Amin suspects some players might intentionally miss to "do a solid for the road crowd"—a suspicion he documents further.

4. Are Players Tanking Free Throws… for Chicken? (13:40–16:23)

• Referenced: Wizards broadcasters openly wonder if Tristan Thompson “did it on purpose” after free throws trigger a giveaway in DC.

• Amin brings social media receipts: Spencer Dinwiddie admits he missed “the second one on purpose” for the fans.

• The crown jewel: Boban Marjanović clearly signals to the crowd that he’ll miss on purpose (“He’s calling his shot like Babe Ruth,” says Amin). (15:55–16:20)

  “He gave out free chicken. He’s a man of the people... He did that on purpose.” – Amin (16:20)

5. The Giannis Antetokounmpo Theory (17:12–26:31)

• Not just “sideshow” players—Amin pivots focus to Giannis, two-time MVP and self-professed lover of all things chicken.

• Clips replay Giannis ordering “a 50-piece” (not 49, not 51!) in his viral Chick-fil-A drive-thru celebration and joking about choosing Milwaukee “for free Chick-fil-A for life.” (17:53–18:34)

  “That’s why I signed in Milwaukee, so I can get free Chick-fil-A for life.” – Giannis (18:34)

• Notably, video exists of Giannis on the bench, pulling out his phone to scan a QR code for free chicken along with the crowd.

6. Data-Driven Detective Work: Chicken Conversion Rate (CCR) (21:01–25:06)

• Amin invents metrics: "Chicken Eligible" shots (CEs)—the second free throw after a first miss, with chicken at stake.

• Chicken Conversion Rate: percentage of times a player misses the CE shot, triggering a chicken giveaway.

  “In essence, this number gives you the efficiency you have at providing chicken to 20,000 people.” – Amin (23:00)

• Giannis’s CCR is a staggering 80% (8 out of 10 chances in two years); his normal fourth quarter numbers are “pretty good for him”—only dropping sharply for chicken shots.

• For other food promos (pizza, ice cream), Giannis’s numbers revert to average—furthering Amin's, let's say, “conspiracy board.”

  “That drop goes from 64% all the way down to 20%. Pablo, that delta is the equivalent of Steph Curry shooting a free throw versus Shaquille O’Neal.” – Amin (24:19)

7. Roadblocks and Stonewalling (27:04–29:22)

• Amin tries to confront Giannis; the Bucks and Giannis’s camp rebuff all attempts for comment.

• Even beat writers are hesitant. Amin faces requests to leave when broaching the topic with Bucks personnel.

  “There was a weird energy around this, clearly... all of it felt like the Bucks wanted nothing to do with this.” – Amin (29:11)

• Gortat’s texted emoji response to an interview request is equally dismissive.

8. The Giannis “Philanthropy” in Action: The Phoenix Incident (32:04–33:10)

• At a Suns-Bucks game, Giannis, tied late, misses both—chicken goes flying. Even the Chick-fil-A cow mascot dances in celebration.

  “It could not have been scripted any better.” – Amin (33:10) “Again, rational brain wants to enter the conversation... that was a two-point game. The Bucks badly needed this, right?” – Pablo (33:10)

9. Motivations: Chicken, Image, and All-Star Voting (33:47–34:59)

• Is Giannis trying to ingratiate himself, or is it random chance?

• Amin notes Giannis leads All-Star voting, suggesting maybe he’s “campaigning across the aisle” with these crowd-pleasing bricks.

  “It’s a quid pro chicken.” – Pablo (34:36)

10. The Truth Teller: Thanasis Antetokounmpo Interview (36:55–43:18)

• Thanasis (Giannis’s brother) confirms both siblings are obsessed with these giveaways—they too have tried to scan free chicken QR codes.

• Recalls missing the first free throw in Atlanta, bewildered at the crowd’s joy, then making the second (thereby denying free chicken).

  “A part of me would have said, ‘Make both and I’ll buy you guys dinner.’ I’m not missing a free throw, man.” – Thanasis (39:36)

• When told of Giannis’s 8/10 chicken giveaway rate:

  “He’s a philanthropist. That’s good. That’s amazing, man. Who doesn’t love a free chicken?” – Thanasis (41:02)

• Thanasis is skeptical his brother does it on purpose:

  “He’s so zeroed in... I’m going to do my best in my ability to make them.” – Thanasis (42:28)

• But when told Giannis is worse only when chicken is on the line, Thanasis jokes:

  “He doesn’t want to give people bad product. He only wants to give them what they want the most. They want chicken. That’s what they want.” (43:02) “That’s how you build your legend. That’s how you become this phenom—just give people what they want.” (43:18)

11. Conclusion & Reflections (44:13–44:53)

• Pablo and Amin share chicken in-studio, acknowledging the irresistible joy of free chicken, regardless of conspiracy.
• Amin “confesses”—both are crazy about chicken and the phenomenon’s power is real whether or not it’s on purpose.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• On investigative obsession:

  “I keep going deeper and deeper and deeper… I felt like I followed the chicken, and I ended up some weird places.” – Amin (01:15)

• On the spirit of the promo:

  “When you get all three of those things in the same place, that’s business nirvana.” – Amin (05:23)

• On Giannis’s chicken love:

  “That’s why I signed in Milwaukee, so I can get free Chick-fil-A for life.” – Giannis (18:34)

• On refusal to discuss:

  “Sorry guys, but don’t really see that” [followed by gritted teeth/laughing sweat emoji] – Marcin Gortat (30:33)

• On statistical absurdity:

  “That delta… is the equivalent of Steph Curry shooting a free throw versus Shaquille O’Neal.” – Amin (24:19)

• Thanasis’s take:

  “He’s a philanthropist. That’s good. That’s amazing, man. Who doesn’t love a free chicken?” – Thanasis (41:02)

• Summing up the legend:

  “That’s how you build your legend. That’s how you become this phenom—just give people what they want.” – Thanasis (43:18)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Intro, premise, and obsession: 00:12 – 03:00
• Defining “Bricken for Chicken”: 02:17 – 04:28
• The Sixers’ turning point: 03:00 – 04:28
• The Washington Wizards chicken promo genesis: 07:17 – 09:15
• Chicken spreads through the NBA: 12:03 – 13:12
• Suspicions of intentional misses: 13:40 – 16:23
• Giannis’s role and documented chicken affinity: 17:12 – 19:32
• CCR, statistical breakdown: 21:01 – 25:06
• Attempts to confront Giannis/Bucks stonewalling: 27:04 – 29:22
• The “Fowl Shot” in Phoenix: 32:04 – 33:10
• Giannis chicken as All-Star campaign: 34:24 – 34:59
• Thanasis Antetokounmpo interview: 36:55 – 43:18
• Outro/hosts eat chicken: 44:13 – end

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Tone & Style

The episode blends serious journalistic inquiry with playful absurdity, keeping a tone that is witty, conspiratorial, and deeply rooted in both basketball culture and joyfully pointless investigations. Pablo and Amin riff on the conspiracy, metric-ize it, and ultimately embrace the fun of chicken giveaways—regardless of intent.

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For Those Who Haven’t Listened

• You’ll walk away knowing how a silly, sponsor-driven NBA promotion has deeply permeated basketball psyche, with real statistical quirks and a touch of secrecy.
• You’ll hear claims, counterclaims, and outright joy about the power of free food to unite (and distract) both players and fans.
• And you’ll discover: in the world of sports, sometimes the most urgent mysteries are the tastiest.

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End of summary.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out I am Pablo Torre. Today's episode is brought to you by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours. And today we're gonna find out what this sound is.

[B]

That's why I signed in Milwaukee, so I can get free Chick Fil A.

[A]

For life right after this ad. You're listening to DraftKings Network. Let me just close out all the windows on my computer. How many tabs do you have open on a given day?

[B]

8 billion. I don't know. You know, I thought I had a cure by opening a second window for the overflow. Now I have like several windows of a million tabs.

[A]

Yeah, the ol. Let's just throw all my laundry in a different room.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When your tabs look like LeBron James's Instagram stories after he wins a championship, it's time to acknowledge you have a problem.

[B]

I can't believe my life is like this.

[A]

I can't believe you've been on this assignment for us. That your life is like this, by the way.

[B]

Yeah. No, you know what, man? Sometimes there's like a calling that happens. I imagine this is what those pigs they use to find truffles.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This is how they feel, right? You get that scent. And now I can't stop. I keep going deeper and deeper and deeper.

[A]

We've been arguing already about can we even show the footage that you've collected that I have not even seen yet? And I don't know if legally we're allowed to, but we'll get to that, I guess. But like, we're talking about blurring and voice modulating. And this is sensitive in a way that I did not presume when we assigned you this.

[B]

This is one of those things. I remember the. In the Wire, they said you follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers, but you start to follow the money and you don't know where the it's going to take you. I felt like I followed the chicken and I ended up some weird places. Most importantly, places where nobody wants to talk about this.

[A]

Your enthusiasm to talk about Bricken for chicken.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the resistance you have faced around the sport that you know as well as anybody. Explain why you've been eager to talk about this for people who don't know what any of this even is.

[B]

Truth be told, you could be a huge NBA fan, watch tons of games on tv, but if you've never been to an NBA arena, you may not even know this promotion exists. Kings fans, they show em how loud we can get right now. In the fourth quarter or in the second half of games, depending on which arena you're in, when the opposing team is at the free throw line, if they miss two free throws in a row and everybody in the building gets free chicken.

[A]

Bricken for chicken.

[B]

But there was one moment on national TV that happened where the announcer let the viewers at home know, hey, this is why everyone is going crazy.

[A]

All right?

[B]

It's that time for chicken. Free chicken. This is a playing game. The winner plays against the Knicks as the seventh seed.

[A]

I remember this acutely.

[B]

Right. The loser then has to go and play against Chicago. So you might not even make it to the playoffs.

[A]

This was deep in the third quarter. The Sixers, I remember, had blown away.

[B]

They were awful. They were awful. They were getting booed at home. And boos raining down here in the first half from the frustrated Sixer fans. And then midway through the third quarter, the heater up 11. Caleb Martin, who is usually a dependable free throw shooter, misses one and then. Yes. And the crowd explodes. My, oh, my, it's so easy to make people happy. Apparently, the chicken is very good. They don't spot.

[A]

I felt that in Mike Breen's loins, by the way. Yes, yes.

[B]

But the crazy thing here is they've done the charting of what the win probability was for the Heat at that moment in time. It was upwards of 80%. It was in the bag. And that moment is the moment where everything changed. And you see the win probability descend, descend, descend, descend. Until all of a sudden, you got a Sixers win. That promo Pablo saved them.

[A]

So the argument you are making here is that Bricken for Chicken is changing meaningfully the course of basketball games in a way that has even exceeded the whole novelty marketing, sponsorship kind of design of it.

[B]

I'll take it one step further. Dan Levitar thinks it saved the Sixers organization as a whole. This organization was ready to crumble last night. And then Free Chicken arrived.

[A]

Yep.

[C]

Chick Fil A and it made everything better.

[A]

It's an actual nightmare. Like the idea that Chick Fil a is what did this is just.

[B]

It's unfathomable. There's the graphic right there. Look at it.

[A]

The inflection point. The cliff. Clearly the cliff that the Heat fall off is directly overlaid onto the moment when Chicken was up for grabs.

[B]

It's insane. And yet it's undeniable what happened there. And so this is one of those moments, I think, where you got something that you want from the marketing side. Right? You got something that you want to galvanize the fans with. And then you got something that basketball ops, right? The coaches, the front office are like, hell yeah, this, this can help. When you get all three of those things in the same place, that's business nirvana.

[A]

Business nirvana for the NBA also, I am told, reliably a business nightmare for Meadowlark Media, which has funded truly a new high when it comes to the. We paid Amin what to investigate what the F graph, Pablo.

[B]

Like I told you earlier, you follow a chicken, there's no telling where you might end up. And where I ended up was in some weird places investigating one of the 75 best players of all time. Right? And in the process completely ruining my reputation in the NBA, which already wasn't stellar to begin with.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was, that was a risk that I was expecting to have. Didn't expect it to get this dangerous.

[B]

This quickly though for the truth, it's all worth.

[A]

So this is a. In other words, psychology experiment that we're watching play out. And I want to get into the minds of the players. I mean you promised me entree into the psychology of NBA players who have all of this at stake. But it's in terms of how this, this stunt originated, right? Where does that begin?

[B]

Well, as with a lot of conspiracy theories in this country, it starts in our nation's capital.

[D]

Well, I'm vice president of Global Partnerships at Monumental Sports and Entertainment. My name is Lou Dreadler. I started here way back 1982. So this is my 43rd year.

[B]

So this is the man behind this promotion, the man who thought it up. He is the big wig exec for the Washington Wizards who in essence makes the partners, which is the corporate sponsors dreams come true.

[A]

Which is a hard thing to do over 43 years when you're selling the Washington Wizards.

[B]

And he's been tasked with coming up with a promotion that helps the local Chick Fil? A franchisees get more foot traffic in the door. And that franchisee was a man named John Natoli. What John Natoli said was, hey, what we found is for most people, if they try our chicken, they come back. But how do we get them to try it? So Lou says, I got it. We'll run a promo where we give away chicken when some sort of event happens. Now what kind of event could that be? Could it be when the Wizards make two free throws? And.

[D]

And then we said, wait a second, that could be negative. Our players could get booed. If they go and make the first free throw and miss the second, they'll get booed for Missing.

[B]

So we've got to do something where everyone is incentivized to keep rooting for this no matter what.

[A]

Where the business side, where the basketball of the Wizards lose side is protected. And also the Chick Fil A side gets what they want.

[B]

Gets what they want.

[D]

I said wait. Let's concentrate on the visiting team doing something that'll generate excitement for Mars.

[B]

This is the brilliance of it. This is almost, in a way, recession proof. Hey, what if we're down 50? They still can miss two free throws in the fourth quarter. So it is something that has repeatable. It's repeat.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So there's no point in time where you're like, well, that promotion's over up until literally the final buzzer.

[A]

It's funny just to remember how like, golf works and golfers hate when the crowd is interfering with their rituals. How their sport has always operated. How did the NBA react to. Yeah. A bold stunt like this?

[B]

Well, it was an instant hit. Right? And it should come as no surprise. Fans love it. Of course. I got free chicken. Chick Fil A. The sponsor loved it. Hey, we got the thing that we wanted. We wanted people walking through the door.

[A]

But the players though, how did they feel?

[B]

Well, according to Lou, the Wizards players loved it. Including one guy in particular.

[D]

Absolutely. The name comes to mind real fast. March and Gortat for the Wizards, Martin Gortat, as soon as this happened, would stand up, grab a towel off the bench and start shaking it over his head to bring the crowd support. Marcin Gortat was so great that they called. They kept calling and saying, ask Marcin when he wants us to deliver sandwiches.

[A]

Did Marcin Gortat actually get the chicken he was promised?

[B]

Did he get his chicken? They threw him a party. It was catered and everything. John Natoli, that Chick Fil a franchisee, was there. Lou Strutler was there and Marcin Gortot was there. That's what I'm talking about. Well, you guys got everything I asked for.

[A]

You caused a big hubbub.

[B]

Listen, all I know we got. We gotta come up with a different rule. Two free throws, two miss free throws. It's too much. Two misses too much. And the Chick Fil a cow.

[A]

Of course.

[B]

We'll come back to that a little later.

[A]

So I do want to point out something about pro athletes, which is, yes, all of them can afford lots of Chick Fil A.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But there is something about watching a Polish born NBA player with like a Zangief mohawk just like enter into a room in America full Of. Of free chicken. That feels like kind of the dream he was promised.

[B]

And then like a real American feel entitled enough to say the threshold is too high. 2 mis free throws. What are we doing? What is this, Communist Russia? No, it needs to be a turnover, right?

[A]

He's consistently campaigning to lower the threshold to get more free chicken.

[B]

More free chicken. And at one point, John Natoli even promises him, hey, we'll have the cow.

[A]

Bring it down the locker room. All right, we got it. We got it.

[D]

All right, we'll do that any home game now.

[A]

Any home game.

[B]

You guys, do we have. Do we have a Chick Fil at the arena?

[A]

Yes. Perfect.

[B]

Can we have someone from the staff bringing little box?

[A]

We'll bring it down. Just little Chick Fil A and make.

[B]

Like, you know, 10 cents. Just number four with Pepper Jack cheese.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Hey, if you guys get up by.

[A]

Enough points, we'll bring it to you on the bench while they're shooting the free throws.

[B]

That's what I'm talking about. And this phenomenon was such a transcendent moment that as tends to happen in our league, copycats start happening across the league because the league has this group called Team bo. Team Business Operations. What they do is they take best practices and they spread them to everybody. So they're like, hey, this promotion in Washington works really well. Everyone else should do it. And so what you see now is across the league, almost half the league has a chicken giveaway based on missed free throws. So much so to the point, Pablo, that now the Wizards are being targeted for it. They are now, instead of being the beneficiaries of this great promotion, they are now the victims. Just the other day in Philadelphia, a young Wizards player named Colby Jones received a new nickname from his teammates because of his exploits during the giveaway. Why do they call you Chick Fil A?

[C]

Sold. When we played Philadelphia, I missed two.

[A]

Freaking those four straight.

[B]

Four straight.

[A]

I think I fed the whole city of Philadelphia.

[B]

So, Pablo, you might detect a certain note of joy coming from Colby Jones.

[A]

He has a new nickname. He has a new identity that I now will think of every time I think of Colby Jones.

[B]

But the crazy thing is, I listen to that sound. I don't hear the talk about the nickname Chick Fil A. Nacho. Whatever it is. What I hear is I think I fed the whole city. Right? I think I fed the whole city. And that's what got me thinking. Wait a second. What if this isn't just guys getting rattled at the pre throw line? What if there are guys out here who are doing a solid for the road crowd.

[A]

Hold on. So you are. You are alleging that these NBA guys, because of this incentive structure with free chicken, are betraying their franchise by taking free chicken and giving them to the people.

[B]

Ok, two things. One, I not alleging anything. I'm asking questions, Pablo. And two, I'm not the only one asking these questions. Take a listen to Chris Miller and Drew Gooden on the Wizards broadcast talking about Tristan Thompson at the free throw line in Washington D.C. last year he.

[A]

Shot 29% from the free throw line and couldn't think of a better person at the free throw line. Cuz if he misses this, all the fans are going to get some chicken.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

Fans are happy. But the Cavs get the basketball back.

[B]

Did he do it on purpose?

[A]

I wouldn't be surprised.

[B]

He's the man.

[C]

The man of the people.

[B]

The man of the people. Look, that's someone asking the question that I was asking. But you don't have to take it from me or Drew Gooden or Chris Miller because Spencer Dinwiddy owned up to it. Take a look at this tweet exchange. So fan tweets to Spencer. I hated watching you miss these fourth quarter free throws, but thank you for lunch tomorrow. And this is what Spencer says back. Miss the second one on purpose. Wanted everybody to eat like the squad. Shrug emoji.

[A]

Okay, now in the case that I, I know you are trying to build, there is clearly also just some guys trying to spin their own failures into something positive that they can then, you know, make jokes about.

[B]

I thought you might say that. Right.

[A]

So I thought you might say that. You thought that I might say that.

[B]

We could do this all day, but I have prepared evidence of a player not only claiming it, but claiming it in the moment. I present to you exhibit C. Bon Maranovic fans are getting excited here. There might potentially be some free chicken on the board if he misses the second free throw. Oh man. Free chicken on the board. Yeah. So that's why the fans are getting a little, little floppy. Oh, they're pointing to. He thinks Bobo's playing with the crowd. Say, you want chicken? Here's your job. He gave him chicken. He's a man of the people. He's a man of the people. He did that on purpose. He did. He gave out free chicken.

[A]

I'd forgotten about that. Goosebumps for people who forgot about this dude. That's an eight point game with four minutes and change left in the fourth quarter. And Bobon actually did very clearly say, I'm going to Miss this and then missed it.

[B]

If you are one of the people who's listening and not watching the video, he is pointing at himself. I'm going to miss it. And he's looking at the crowd, he's I'm going to miss. He tells his team.

[A]

Such an insane video, a build up to it.

[B]

It's not just like. It's not the Spencer Dinwiddie where he misses. I meant to do that. He is calling his shot like Babe Ruth pointing to the outfield. Right?

[A]

He's like the opposite of Babe Ruth.

[B]

Well, yeah.

[A]

All of these guys on a relative basis are themselves like sideshows. These are relatively speaking scrubs. Kobe Jones, Kristen Thompson this season, Bobon. These are. These are circus acts in a circus promo just having fun off to the side, basically.

[B]

I thought you might say that. And this is the whole point of my investigation. Follow me if you will. Right. What if I told you that the guy that this story is really about isn't a sideshow or a scrub as you very, very disrespectfully call those fine young men?

[A]

I do want to apologize.

[B]

What if I told you actually this guy is a former mvp? No, a former two time mvp. You might know him by his own nickname. That wasn't given to him by his teammates after failure. No, it's given to him because this guy is a freak of nature. The one and only Giannis Antetokounmpo. First of all, I'm supposed to be in Vegas right now. I'm supposed to be in Vegas right now, you know, partying. But I'm here ordering Chick Fil a. Can I have a 50 piece so that I will put you. Can I put your camera? Do you mind or.

[A]

No, sure.

[B]

There's 150000 people watching you right now. Really? Yes. So can I. Can I have please a 50 piece Mac minis? 50 exactly. Not 50. One, none. 49. Chicken minis. Yes, 50. And let me have a large drink, no ice, half Sprite, half lemonade.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

So you might be asking yourself, how much does Kupo love fast food chicken? And the only answer I can come up with is, as much as any human being has ever loved anything in the history of mankind. Are we getting free Chick Fil a for life Now I want free Chick Fil A for life.

[A]

There's no way.

[B]

That's why I signed in Milwaukee, so I can get free Chick Fil a for life. So there's all of these documented instances of Giannis professing his love for Chicken. Like, there's a time he showed up to a press conference with a bucket of chicken wings. There's a time where he tweeted about Roscoe's and how much he loves Roscoe's and wishes they would open one in Milwaukee. There's the trip to China where he goes and he professes love for chicken feet.

[D]

Is there anything you want to try.

[B]

But not try yet during this trip?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

Can you guys recommend me something? We try the chicken feet.

[C]

I love chicken feet.

[A]

You love chicken feet?

[C]

I love chicken feet.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I now am remembering how Giannis, you know, was one All Star MVP and decided to celebrate in the way that you are alluding to.

[B]

So.

[A]

So what's it feel like to finally.

[B]

To finally win this thing?

[C]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

[A]

And yet none of this has to do with the promo that we're talking about, Amit. So this is his love of chicken in general, but what about how he's interacted with the incentives that we're dissecting?

[B]

Ok, so here's a video of him at a Milwaukee Bucks game where there's a chicken giveaway while the opposing team is in a chicken scenario.

[A]

Speaking of wings. Oh, everybody gets wings. Free wings from wingstop Redeemed. Look at Giannis.

[B]

She's scanning it.

[A]

He's capturing the moment. He's getting the. He wants to get the QR code to get his phone.

[B]

He's on the bench. Obviously it's the end of the game, and he pulls a phone out to scan the QR code for the free chicken giveaway that they're giving to the fans. He's so enthusiastic about chicken, about the promo, he wants in on it like everyone else in the arena.

[A]

It's such ridiculous video that I'm overlooking the fact that Giannis just had a cell phone on the bench.

[B]

By the way, you never know. You never know when a QR code might pop up, Pablo.

[A]

But, ok, so granted, fair. But in terms of his personal at the line performance, not as a spectator. Right, Right. Not as Marcin Gortat, but as somebody with something to lose or, in this case, win. How does he.

[B]

How does he do so, in essence, Pablo, what you're asking me is we've seen him be the marching gortad of this, kind of rooting for it for the home crowd. But have we ever seen him be the bobon where he's on the road and he's.

[A]

That is the investigation.

[B]

Okay, this is what I'm gonna tell you right now when it comes to Chicken eligible free throws. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the Robin Hood of chicken giveaways.

[A]

So now we're at the tabs open on now both of our computers. I'm trying to run through the research here that you've assembled for a term that you dropped on our audience. As if anybody would know what the you're talking about. Yes, but chicken eligibility.

[B]

Yeah. What I found, Pablo, is when you are investigating ground that has not been sullied by human feet, right? This is fresh snow. This is untouched by humanity. You have to create metrics to measure the things that no one even considered. And so we came up with this term, chicken eligible shots, because. All right, the way the promo works, in case you haven't figured out by now, you miss the first free throw, you miss the second free throw. Everyone wins. Free chicken. If the opposing player makes the first free throw, guess what? We don't care what happens on that second free throw shot. Right. So the only way we can figure out if you're handing out chicken as an opposing player is if you are converting on chicken eligible shots. So that's the second missed free throw after you missed the first one.

[A]

Right. You've created a helpful graphic here. Chicken eligible, parentheses CE any free throw where a miss on that individual shot would result in the activation of a chicken based promo.

[B]

Yes, precisely. We have another term we need you to understand.

[A]

Why?

[B]

Because metrics. We have to build metrics off of this. It's not enough to say, hey, how many chicken eligible shots did he take?

[A]

Oh, sorry, you're moving us from counting stats now to efficiency, which is the.

[B]

Key to any good metric, is we want to know how efficient you are.

[A]

Of course. Of course. I must agree with this.

[B]

And here's the graphic. The chicken conversion rate, which is your chicken eligible misses, divided by your chicken eligible attempts. In essence, this number gives you the efficiency you have at providing chicken to 20,000 people.

[A]

So just to over explain this, CCR is the rate at which a player will miss a free throw with chicken on the line.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And so Giannis Antetokounmpo, when it comes to his conversion rate when he's chicken eligible, I mean, is What?

[B]

So his CCR over the last two years, 80%. 80% of the time he's got an opportunity to get you chicken, he comes.

[A]

Home with it 8 out of 10 times. Giannis is converting free chicken for the crowd.

[B]

Yeah. He's doing 20%. Yeah.

[A]

That's pretty bad.

[B]

It's awful.

[A]

Yeah, but he's also a bad Free throw shooter, though.

[B]

Sure, yeah. I mean, look, he's not great at shooting free throws, right? Overall in his career, he's in the 60 percentage spot. But here's the crazy part. When you look at his quarter by quarter free throw percentage for this year, let's say, right, he shoots 64% in fourth quarters of games. He's a pretty like, for his standard, pretty good free throw shooter. The only time we have a drop is when he's shooting free throws versus when he's shooting free throws with chicken on the line. And then that drop goes from 64% all the way down to 20%. Pablo, that is the difference. That that delta that we have there is the equivalent of Steph Curry shooting a free throw versus Shaquille o'.

[A]

Neal.

[B]

You're telling me that this guy who's not a great free throw shooter, I.

[A]

Mean, famously, people count down, crowds are mocking him by pointing out how long he takes to shoot a free throw.

[B]

Just the one assist.

[A]

And now you've got a sign for Giannis in the end zone and he hits the free throw. Even that guy, you're saying, becomes that much worse when there is this incentive at stake.

[B]

It strains credulity. I don't know if I'm saying that word right.

[A]

I think, stunningly, you might be okay.

[B]

It strains it, though.

[A]

It strains my credulity that, you know, to pronounce credulity.

[B]

So it's strange credulity to believe that someone who is bad at free throws is magically, horrendously worse. Only when there's a chicken giveaway.

[A]

This is where I just need to continue to channel the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and point out that the theater, and it is convincing theater, graphical theater, full of lots of terms. The theater you're giving us is kind of small sample size theater. Like, I'm looking at the graph, when you say 80% and I say eight out of 10, I mean, we're talking about 10 shots here. That's not a lot.

[B]

It's 10 shots for chicken, right? Because here's the crazy part. When it comes to giveaways of any other sort of variety, pizza, ice cream, hot dogs, whatever it is, he shoots his regular free throw percentage. But when it comes to chicken, he shoots the absolute worst. And Pablo, this is where all of that context we ran through, where you're like, why are we seeing all these videos and clips and stuff? That's why. Because this guy has a demonstrated connection with a love for fast food chicken. I wish I had a Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia bulletin board here, where I can have some strings and attach all the connecting factors here. He loves chicken, and he wants to share that love with. With everyone.

[A]

What does Giannis have to say about all of this?

[B]

Well, Pablo, I had the same question, so I went home to Phoenix to see the Milwaukee Bucks play the Suns, to ask Giannis myself.

[A]

So you land in Phoenix, you land back home, and the Bucks are visiting. They're the road team. There is chicken in the air.

[B]

Yeah, but.

[A]

But you want to go ask questions, journalistically responsible questions of the person that we are theorizing about. How hard was that?

[B]

You know, it wasn't easy, right? Because I don't know if you know this NBA shootarounds, what they do is they do their practice, their little morning walkthrough on the day of the game, but then they don't let the media in until the very end, which allows for players to escape without talking to media if they don't want to. And I had been warned that Giannis notoriously does not talk to media.

[A]

He has a reputation, if you're not familiar with the reputation that he doesn't for all the videos we played, doesn't actually like giving time to us journalists.

[B]

And yet I saw him and I try to catch up with him.

[A]

This is a video of you running through the tunnel. That's that patented amino acid sprinting speed.

[B]

Just missed him. Just missed him. We'll get to the bottom of this. They're trying to sneak him out the bad quick, but we're going to get to the bottom of this.

[A]

That was an episode of Severance. You're running down hallways that don't go anywhere.

[B]

And so I'm trying to catch up with Giannis, but he's a big guy with big strides. So I did the next best thing when I got to the game later that evening, I went to locker room availability and I tried to talk to one of his teammates about it. I don't know if you've noticed this. You know, some of these arenas have a free giveaway if the opposing team misses two free throws, right? Sometimes the chicken, sometimes it's pizza, something like that. Even though Giannis shoots better in the fourth quarter on free throws, when it's the chicken giveaway, he tends to miss those. Why do you think that is? I don't think there's any reason for it. Shots go in or shots don't go in.

[C]

It's just.

[A]

I mean, to clarify why the thing we alluded to before, we actually did need to do here. The doctoring, the voice modulating, the blurring of this secret video. Why is this so secret? Why? Why aren't we seeing and hearing what you heard and saw?

[B]

Because the moment I asked the question, I was asked politely to leave. They didn't want any questions about this whatsoever.

[A]

The question you asked, as soon as you articulate it, which we did hear, the implication becomes, wait a minute, I should answer this very carefully. And perhaps not at all.

[B]

There was a weird energy around this, clearly, from the approach on Giannis to entering the locker room, to the conversations afterward. All of it felt like the Bucks wanted nothing to do with this. And we reached out to Giannis directly through his agent to talk to him. That was rebuffed as well, right? I mean, we've tried. Even the beat writers, by the way, guys that cover the Bucks on a day to day basis, when I try to talk to him about it, everything was like, nope, don't want to be involved in it. Because they were worried, I think, like, how that would reflect on them. This is the part where I said, I'm risking my reputation here for you, for your show.

[A]

This is where, as I was hearing what was transpiring, I was like, oh, so the. So the Giannis that is the most vocal global ambassador for chicken in this regard is the exact opposite.

[B]

Right?

[A]

And the general, by the way, the flavor around even the champions of chicken, like, I mean, it's worth pointing out too. Eventually we here at Pablo Torre finds out. We reached out to Margin Gortat, and his response was what? How would you describe that?

[B]

I won't describe it, I'll just show it to you on the screen. And so this is his response to our request for an interview. Quote, sorry, guys, but don't really see that laughing emoji with the, with the, like, sweat bead. With the sweat bead on it. Exactly. Me talking about chicken, gritted teeth, emoji, gritted teeth, Pablo. That's not the response of someone saying, hey, man, I don't feel like talking about this.

[A]

That's not the guy we saw in the video who was like, having a chicken party, right?

[B]

Like, who was requesting that the threshold be lowered on what the chicken giveaway is. This is someone, again, who does not want to be on the record on this. And you know what it reminded me of, Pablo? It reminded me of a prior episode of PTFO when we went to go see the Haunted Hotel in Oklahoma City, remember? And Nate Robinson, who had experienced supernatural activities there, when we reached out to ask him and he said, no, I don't want to talk about that. And he texted something very similar. Right. Like you could pick up the telltale signs of someone who feels disincentivized to have anything to do with this conversation.

[A]

So Giannis doesn't want to touch this. The people that we think would want to touch this actually do. Not at all. But there is a game that night.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And so what happens when the ball is tipped? An NBA heavyweight matchup highlights the bill on this Monday night. With two teams in full fight mode down the stretch, it's a solid the Bucks here in the PHX on Arizona's family sports.

[B]

So fast forward to the fourth quarter, cuz that's the only part that we anyone cares about. It's the chicken giveaway, which in Phoenix, by the way, it's called a foul shot.

[A]

Right F O W. Yeah, see, it's a double entendre.

[B]

So sons are up too. Giannis gets fouled about 2 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game. He goes to the free throw line, he misses the first one, and then this is what happens on the second move. You hear that, Pablo? They're not catching counting like they usually do. They're not booing, they are going nuts. And in the corner, I don't know if you saw it, the little chick fil a cow.

[A]

Oh, I saw.

[B]

Oh, the same cow that was a marching gortat loosen at his chicken party. Yep. Is back dancing its ass off. God, it was. It. It could not have been scripted any better.

[A]

I mean, again, rational brain wants to enter the conversation. Okay, so as much as it's a signal that something that is total proof of your theory is happening. I mean, like it was a. That was a two. I'm looking at the score. Yeah, that was a two point game. The Bucks badly needed this, right? The whole theory that Giannis is being incentivized because of his love of chicken and because of his love of, frankly, humanity. The theory that he's doing this on purpose. I mean, again, they need these wins. I mean, why? Why would he do this?

[B]

Well, why would he do it in general? Regardless of whether the game is on the line or not? It's a lot of things. Like maybe it's again, he loves chicken, he wants everyone to have it. Maybe it's because, hey, this is my weakness that everyone jeers and mocks me for. That turns into something that makes me a little bit more affable, right? Maybe. Hey, guess what, Pablo? Ever look at the all Star voting? You know who's number one? Not Steph Curry, everyone's darling. Not LeBron James, the greatest player ever, according to some people. Not Victor Wembanyama, this Spinoz phenomenon. The number one all star vote guy in the league is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who plays for Milwaukee. It's not like everyone in Wisconsin turned out to stuff the ballot boxes.

[A]

Wait, you're saying that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been using chicken the way Elon Musk has been using money to win elections?

[B]

I mean, look, what I'm saying is this guy's really popular.

[A]

It's a quid pro chicken.

[B]

He's really popular. Pablo, more popular, arguably by the metrics than LeBron.

[A]

It is a shock. I did not realize that. That is actually quite shock.

[B]

And on the other hand, he loves chicken. Right? And you bring these two things together, I'm giving opposing fans. Opposing fans. It's one thing to win over 20,000 people in Milwaukee. It's another thing to win over 20,000 people in 29 other NBA arenas.

[A]

Campaigning across the aisle.

[B]

Yes, that's basically what he's doing. He's reaching across. And it's working. It's working.

[A]

We're now we're firmly in the realm of trying to climb into the mind of someone who does not want us to see inside.

[B]

You know, Pablo, there is one person I didn't talk to who could address those things. The inner psyche of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who knows him better than anybody on the face of the planet. It's his brother. I know you're going to have to talk to Thanasis Anokounmpo.

[A]

I mean, I guess I can totally believe that you have dragged me to this point, but it's time for us to make one more call. Foreign. So the very first thing that you need to know about the guy I'm about to call here is that he is Giannis's older brother, one of five Andokumbo brothers in all four of whom, by the way, have made the NBA, which is its own incredible story. But Thanassis Anetokumbo, crucially, is the only Anetokounbo brother to have played alongside Giannis. Thanassis was a third stringer when they won a title together in Milwaukee in 2021. And the two are so close to this day that Thanassis still lives and works in Milwaukee, right alongside Giannis, whom he calls his best friend and his partner. And so while Thanasis two time MVP winning brother would not take a call from Pablo Torre finds out Most especially during these ongoing NBA playoffs. Thanasis, I was told, actually would, because Thanassis and I also happen to share something very important in common. An incredible affection for the truth.

[C]

One of my nicknames is Truth Teller, because if you don't tell the truth, if you don't say that the way it is, they won't listen to you.

[A]

And this is a lesson. It turns out that Thanassis has been heating at home with Giannis and in locker rooms around the NBA and also now on his own podcast, which he titled Thanalysis, which is, you know, a pretty good name, gotta admit. And so at this point, I just decided to ask Thanassis straight up about the truth behind Bricken for Chicken.

[C]

Is that the one with the free throws? If they miss free throws, you get the chicken.

[A]

Bricken for Chicken.

[C]

Bricken for Chicken.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

You know, one time we actually was looking at the jamming shop, was trying to get our phones to get the scanner to get the same discount, too.

[A]

Which you may now recall from earlier in this episode with. I mean, when we talked about that game where Giannis somehow had a cell phone on the bench, was trying to scan that QR code off the Jumbotron to get free chicken alongside everybody else in the building. And this memory got Thanas thinking about a different game, actually, from a few years ago in Atlanta.

[C]

You want to hear a story? We come in, and this guy had to be 2022 or 2021, one of the Z. We come in, third unit, third string. We come in, you know, trying to finish the game. You know, as always, not the best. You know, sometimes sloppy, sometimes it's okay, you know, just not the best time to be in. But I'll take it. You know, I'm blessed. I. I'll take whatever I can get.

[A]

11 different Atlanta Hawks players have scored here tonight. Thanasis going for her, his first points.

[C]

So I'm shooting the free throws, and I missed the first one, and everybody's going ballistic.

[B]

And I'm like, what?

[C]

I look around, I'm like, why is everybody so hyped?

[B]

And as you could hear, it's getting.

[A]

Very loud because it is foul time.

[C]

And then, you know, I hit the second free third. I hear this. Oh, deflation.

[A]

No chicken for you.

[B]

Shut up.

[C]

And then I asked the. I was like, why is everybody? What did I do? Why is everybody? Was everybody, like, booing and yelling? He's like, no, it was free food.

[A]

That's why they added Kubrows, depriving these Atlanta people of much needed, nourishment was any part of you. Thanasis.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

If you were aware. If you were aware of the free food you could have given that city.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Is there any part of you that was like, man, I wonder what it would feel like if I missed the second one?

[B]

No.

[C]

A part of me would have said, make both and I'll buy you guys dinner. I'm not missing a free throws man. Dinners on me. It's okay. You know, I got to make my free throws.

[A]

Well, this is, this is the thing I'm fascinated by, is that the crowd is trying to root you on, but the opposite, right. They're trying to. They're. They're actively trying to get you to miss because the free food thing is a magical lure. What I'm curious about is whether you're aware of how much free chicken your brother Giannis has won people around the NBA.

[C]

So I'll tell you this. They usually free throws. Those free throws come in the clutch. In the clutch. He makes them like, he's never. He doesn't miss in the clutch. Maybe in the beginning. They don't have that offer in the beginning. In the, in the game. So I don't know specifically, but I would assume these are definitely giving out, like, food.

[B]

Definitely.

[A]

This is the funny thing, okay. In the past two NBA seasons.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Giannis has had 10 chicken eligible free throws.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. So this is the second crucial free throw with chicken on the line. We call them chicken eligible free throws.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And he's had ten of them, and he has missed eight of them.

[B]

So.

[C]

What do you mean?

[B]

He.

[C]

So he gave eight of them. He gave chickens. Chicken big and chicken to people. Oh, that's it. He's a philanthropist. That's good. That, That's. That's amazing, man. Who doesn't love a free chicken?

[A]

He is the league leader in chicken eligible conversion rate. No one has given the NBA more free chicken in that way than your brother. He is the Robin Hood of free chicken.

[C]

Wow, that's good. I'm telling that. I'm telling them, telling that.

[B]

I.

[C]

But, you know, I'm afraid if I tell him, he's going to not miss now. He's going to think about it and not give no more free chicken. So I'm not going to say anything. I'm just going to let it rock. I'm going to leave it.

[B]

Right.

[A]

What's just funny is that, like the love you get, though, like the. So we went through and just watched what it's like when you miss the second free throw and You. And you do when your brother does what you refuse to do because you sank that second one, man, it is like they would have voted him for president.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It's just. It's an amazing thing.

[C]

Even though he's not American, it was not like. It was crazy.

[A]

Yeah, we can get. We're living in crazy times, man. That doesn't really matter anymore. We can do whatever we want. But here's. Here's. Here's the funny thing. I am now curious. Do you think there's any part of your brother in his mind, deep in his brain, that is hearing the applause and is thinking to himself, maybe I should just miss the second one?

[C]

Oh, no, I don't think he's just like me. No, he's not missing anyone. I'm not gonna lie to you. He's just like me. I don't think he thinks that. He's so zeroed in, and when I say zeroed, he's so laser focused that he's thinking like, I'm gonna make two free throws. And it is what it is. I'm going to do my best in my ability to make him.

[A]

The statistic I have to follow up on that, though, to. To. To continue this investigation is that we also tracked Giannis's free throw percentage when it came to other types of food that were on the line in promotions. Okay, so the non chicken foods. Okay, non chicken food eligible free throws over the past two seasons. Yeah, with non chicken eligible shots, he made five of eight.

[C]

He doesn't want to give people bad product. He won. He only wants to give him their. What they want the most. They want chicken. That's what they want.

[A]

I don't think there's a bigger truth you could tell the dasis then.

[C]

That's what I.

[A]

What you just said, that people want chicken, and we gotta give the people what they want.

[C]

That's how you build your legend. That's how you become this phenom. Just give people what they want.

[A]

Thanasis aretokumbo a true truth teller. Thank you for solving a mystery that I can now finally have some peace about.

[C]

Put the rest. Okay, man. Thank you so much.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

Thank you, brother. Thank you. Anytime.

[A]

And at this point, there was only one thing for us left to do. It was time to summon our intrepid correspondent back into our studio for a piece of something else. So, Amin Alhassan, I just have one last thing to tell you, which is that thank you for not bricking this assignment. And as your reward, we got chicken.

[B]

Okay. All right. So this is the part where I have to admit it's not just Giannis who's crazy about chicken and free chicken giveaways.

[A]

Yeah. The least shocking twist of this story is that both of us, honestly, are starving.

[B]

Bones.

[A]

Ooh.

[B]

Honestly Flavorful.

[A]

I get it. I get it.

[B]

Be honest. I don't know if you're doing it on purpose or not, but it's worth it.

[A]

Sometimes all we got to do is say thanks.

[B]

We have any hot sauce?

[A]

This has been Pablo Torre Finds Out a Meadowlark Media production, and I'll talk to you next time it.