Reasons why the NBA is not rigged

[GooniesNeverDie]

7. There are a lot of 50/50 calls in basketball and refs have to make a split second decision. Superstars, home teams and veterans usually get the benefit of the doubt, it doesn't mean Adam Silver instructed the refs to cheat. Deal with it.

when has Lebron gotten a 50/50 call? When was the last time he got 6 fouls in the game? These Lebron teams are hilarious, every year same thing, they hack ppl left and right, and everyone calls it a good defense. Took Miami a while to understand that they had crap defense, and they just royal treatment by the refs.

have you even watched your team this season?

anyways if the league was rigged, pretty sure Kobe vs. Lebron would've happened in 09.. the Knicks wouldn't have a 50 year championship drought.. 4 small market teams wouldn't have made it to the conference finals this season.. cp3 would've been with the Lakers etc etc.

funny how the NBA is rigged when it fits your narrative though

[Veggamattic]

7. There are a lot of 50/50 calls in basketball and refs have to make a split second decision. Superstars, home teams and veterans usually get the benefit of the doubt, it doesn't mean Adam Silver instructed the refs to cheat. Deal with it.

when has Lebron gotten a 50/50 call? When was the last time he got 6 fouls in the game? These Lebron teams are hilarious, every year same thing, they hack ppl left and right, and everyone calls it a good defense. Took Miami a while to understand that they had crap defense, and they just royal treatment by the refs.

Butthurt Lebron haters are so boring. They are the types that watch wrestling and soap operas.

[AllanH20]

In the Finals, LeBron & Kyrie have combined for 149 drives and 62 free throw attempts. Steph & Klay have combined for 69 drives and 55 free throw attempts.

Look at Curry's #5 foul, he fouled twice.



Warriors fans weren't complaining when Draymond wasn't suspended for that, right?

The NBA isn't rigged. We're only talking about this because the Warriors can't take a lose without throwing a fit and their fans are trying to rationalize the choking.

We need to stop talking about this.

[Hooplah]

http://time.com/money/4373400/nba-finals-rigged-money-abc-ad-revenues/

I think it's ridiculous to think the NBA would risk rigging games for just $45M, but it is technically true the league makes more money when there are more games.

What's the risk if everyone wins? Aren't they giving most fans what they want too?

Players, sponsors, and the league in general also stand to benefit, in largely unquantifiable ways, when the NBA Finals is competitive and extends to a full seven games.

Also from the article:

Donaghy also said that in his experience, referees always seemed to favor teams that were losing in a playoff series, in order give them the best chance of prolonging it. “It was always a situation where the team down in the series was going to benefit from those calls,” he said.

Even Lebron is not immune:

Spoiler:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJsdQazLi0c[/youtube]

[taikibansei]

and now the reasons why the nba IS rigged


1. it was proven to be rigged as of August 15, 2007 when Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)


and all it takes is one case to validate all other speculations and doubt going forward


and this is coming from a kobe fan.

Tim Donaghy bet on games that he officiated during his last two seasons, and he was arrested and charged both for that and because he supposedly made calls affecting the point spread in those games. I.e., he supposedly (the latter never really proven) tried to throw the games he reffed in order to win on his bets. So much for Donaghy's personal "rigging" of games.

On the other hand, there's a lot of evidence that Donaghy's claims about rigging in the NBA as a whole are false. Specifically, his much publicized betting "system" is a complete joke which would have bankrupted you if you followed it. E.g., from this link here:

The results: Far from making 70 percent, that strategy would have lost you 12 percent of your money. In other words, choosing at random would have given you a better chance at success.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/11341/did-dick-bavetta-prop-up-weaker-teams

I.e., when analyzed (by people who could have made millions proving the existence of this conspiracy), the "tendencies" Donaghy refers to again and again were shown not to exist; moreover, betting according to them would have left you penniless. The link below talks at length about how Donaghy responded when the stuff in the first link was brought up...the point being he couldn't. E.g.:

Confronted with all of that data at a Tampa hotel on Monday morning, Donaghy had no explanation, other than to say that his betting techniques were more subtle than simply betting on these rules, and that he did not bet on every game that met the description.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/11340/tim-donaghys-claims-on-trial

Note that the above two links contain links to many other pertinent articles as well.

Do I think the NBA refs are perfect? No. Do they drive me crazy when they mess up? Yes. Do I wish for more transparency with the way the NBA handles these mistakes (and the refs who make them)? Of course.

That said, I think the idea of there being this big evil conspiracy is laughable. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

[immortalone23]

North Korea, probably the most secretive country in the world can't even prevent leaks. People think no one would find out if the NBA was rigged???

[McKenna]

Trust me.. it's not even a debate. You wouldn't ever get confirmation one way or another without FIFA style explosions from the top down.

What I do know though is that this isn't news. It isn't even discussion worthy. Just because some fat entitled bitch decided to start fat fingering the screen of her phone doesn't make it news.

Quit worrying about that skank and go beat your dick like it owes you money. You'll forget about her in no time (hopefully!).

[Hornet Mania]

I absolutely believe that the referees tend to favor the losing team in a playoff series when making 50/50 calls.

I don't think it's often (or necessarily ever) a matter of "let's make sure so-and-so wins/loses" , but more of a natural inclination to nurture competition by "leveling" the field by favoring the currently losing team slightly. It sure seemed like the Dubs got a lot of close calls when they were down to the Thunder, now they can't get any when up against the Cavs.

It's no grand conspiracy for them or against them, the league historically seems to lengthen playoff series by a game or two using controversial officiating decisions. It's a topic of conversation every year. If a team just vaporizes their opponent (example: Spurs vs Heat 2014) there's nothing that can be done to extend a series, but in a close contest calls seem to tend the current "loser" with the only logical advantage being a longer (and more lucrative) series.

Is this "rigging" results? I would say it is mildly influencing results, outright rigging is impossible or at least extremely difficult to pull off. A little nudge here and there happens, but that's it. For what it's worth, I anticipate that the Dubs will get the benefit of many big calls tomorrow because of the psychological effect home court seems to have on officiating, so things will even out. Of course then Cavs fans may complain about all the 50/50 calls they "never" get when they need them.

[Pharaoh]

I think that people who believe in conspiracy theories are the finger pointers and whiners of the world.

Surely there is some giant corporation ruining your life or working against your favourite sports team!

Everyone is self made - only successful people (or organisations) are willing to admit it

[Side beard]

7. There are a lot of 50/50 calls in basketball and refs have to make a split second decision. Superstars, home teams and veterans usually get the benefit of the doubt, it doesn't mean Adam Silver instructed the refs to cheat. Deal with it.

when has Lebron gotten a 50/50 call? When was the last time he got 6 fouls in the game? These Lebron teams are hilarious, every year same thing, they hack ppl left and right, and everyone calls it a good defense. Took Miami a while to understand that they had crap defense, and they just royal treatment by the refs.

[bondom34]

This needs to stop. Its an excuse for a team that loses.

[Kswiss]

1. NBA decided to instate instant replay. If you are trying to rig games you don't implement instant replay which allows refs to correct mistakes and make sure the right decision is made when the game is on the line. If you are rigging a game you are better off not using instant replay and having "human error" as an excuse for biased officiating.
2. New CBA that was signed helps small markets be more competitive by increasing revenue sharing and allowing teams to re-sign players for an extra season as an incentive not to leave the team for a bigger market. If league wanted all their stars in big markets they wouldn't have made that rule. They also made the luxury tax super punitive to discourage big markets from over spending.
3. Adam Silver works for ALL 30 owners. Most owners are ultra competitive and would never allow their team to get screwed over deliberately by the commissioner. Adam Silver gets paid by the owners, he is not above them. They can fire him. There is no way someone like Mark Cuban would green light his team getting screwed over for the good of the game.
4. TV money is a fixed amount and guaranteed. The NBA just signed a 10 year tv deal. They get a certain amount regardless of how high or low the ratings are and don't renegotiate those tv rights for another decade. It doesnt matter if 5 million or 20 million people watch game 7 the league gets paid a fixed amount regardless.
5. NBA draft lottery is taped and shown on nba.com and has a representative from each team monitoring it. Yet all its going to take is the Lakers to win it once and all of a sudden "the NBA is rigged" nutjobs will start conspiracy theories. In the NHL the Edmonton Oilers won the lottery three times recently. Had it been a big market team that won it everyone would say its rigged...but conveniently ignore it when small markets win the lotttery.
6. Fans of all 30 teams complain about officiating and think the game is rigged against their team...its never the opponent getting screwed, its only their team. What a coincidence.
7. There are a lot of 50/50 calls in basketball and refs have to make a split second decision. Superstars, home teams and veterans usually get the benefit of the doubt, it doesn't mean Adam Silver instructed the refs to cheat. Deal with it.

1. Yet often times plays are judged "unreviewable" for no apparent reason. Also fouls (much more common than out of bounds calls) are not reviewable. Often times the "entertainment" fouls are not shown on replay or even mentioned by the commentators almost as if they don't happen, all for the sake of closing the score gap to artificially create excitement, or in some cases extend series which is pretty blatantly obvious.
2. It's a star-driven league, in the globalized market, star power and storylines are worth far more than local market crowds cheering for their team.
3. Funny you mention Mark Cuban, who allegedly was given the 2011 chip in an under-the-table deal to make up for the 2006 chip for Miami. See free throw numbers in that series. Why wouldn't owners want the league to be as entertaining and profitable as possible?
4. Absolutely untrue. The networks pay per playoff game, as the ad space is sold on a per-game basis. Each additional game nets the league many million dollars, especially in the Finals.
5. The lottery is "pre-recorded" meaning it could easily be edited to or hoaxed similar to a magic show, with various simple modifications to the machine. Worst case, they mess up and do another take.
6. I'm not really a fan of any particular team, I like certain players and I played college basketball myself so it is really blatant when "entertainment" fouls are being called to serve the NBA's financial purposes. Why would the NBA give up guaranteed profits for slightly more credibility. People are gonna watch anyway.
7. The refs are instructed to ref games in certain ways and it is usually obvious from the first tip.


I'm sorry man, I think you'll have to think of a better reason than those. Why would the league and owners be at war with each other when they can all profit from increased league popularity and entertainment? It doesn't make any sense.

[bondom34]

^^^

2011 Finals:

Dallas 155 FTA
Miami 148 FTA

Clearly rigged...

[76ciology]

Do you think players play to win or to make money?

[Dominator83]

6. Fans of all 30 teams complain about officiating and think the game is rigged against their team...its never the opponent getting screwed, its only their team. What a coincidence.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjRcTiwVEwo[/youtube]

that series was definitely rigged to go 7. only reason i have any pride over the 2002 title is because the kings lost fair and square in game 7 and had some games massively in their favour before that


what i can't deny is it was rigged to extend to a game 7

Yea i remember mike bibby (or was it Doug Christie?) fouling Kobes elbow with his face

And as much as game 6 was rigged for the Lakers, game 5 was definitely favored tords the kings with a ton of bad calls against LA

[Ganji]

^^^

2011 Finals:

Dallas 155 FTA
Miami 148 FTA

Clearly rigged...

it's more about non calls then calls...

[almatic]

"Rigged" is the wrong word.

Games are influenced, but not rigged.

Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals is evidence of that & anyone who thinks there wasn't an agenda there to create primetime Sunday Night Game 7 between the Lakers & Kings of that time is really, really, really naive.

[Wolf_Cry]

The NBA isn't rigged, but it is to me by far the most bias of all sports. Superstar treatments, inconsistent calls, missed calls, what's a tech vs what isn't a tech...been saying for years first add at least 2 more refs on the court. In addition, don't give a crap if the game takes longer, give the coaches 2 challenges like in the NFL, which includes the ability to challenge fouls.

[jbk1234]

"Rigged" is the wrong word.

Games are influenced, but not rigged.

Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals is evidence of that & anyone who thinks there wasn't an agenda there to create primetime Sunday Night Game 7 between the Lakers & Kings of that time is really, really, really naive.

But doesn't the fact that people cite that single example over a 60 year period kind of prove the point? It's literally the exception that proves the rule. If the NBA was influencing outcomes, there would be hundreds, if not thousands, of 2002 WCF Game Sixes instead of one.

I think the threshold for what people think is improper influencing is so low that a couple of questionable calls qualifies. If that's the threshold, then you're essentially saying anything less than a perfectly called game (which begs the question from whose perspective) becomes improper influencing.

[jbk1234]

The NBA isn't rigged, but it is to me by far the most bias of all sports. Superstar treatments, inconsistent calls, missed calls, what's a tech vs what isn't a tech...been saying for years first add at least 2 more refs on the court. In addition, don't give a crap if the game takes longer, give the coaches 2 challenges like in the NFL, which includes the ability to challenge fouls.

Fans bring their own biases in as well. The team you root for and the style of basketball you prefer to have played goes into how you perceive the fairness of the officiating.