Is the NBA rigged? It’s a questionable call.

by Larry Bills, June 12th, 2008, 7:00 am

The NBA is in the headlines this week and not just because The Finals are in full swing. Disgraced referee Tim Donaghy has raised allegations that game officials are inappropriately directed by the league office to call or ignore fouls in ways that influence the outcome of playoff games, all in an effort to ensure higher television ratings so marquee teams and players can extend playoff series and run deeper into the post-season. While I agree that officiating of NBA games should be more closely scrutinized and reformed, I find the claim that there’s a big conspiracy throughout the entire NBA to be pretty dubious.

First of all, consider the source. Donaghy fully admitted to betting on games he was officiating and pled guilty to felony charges as a result. The dude’s looking at three years in prison when he is sentenced next month. How convenient that he goes public with these allegations now, without naming names, in what is clearly an effort to get a lighter sentence. Donaghy is a proven liar who has no proof to back up what he’s saying.

But Donaghy’s credibility aside, if what he says is true then that would mean that there is a league-wide conspiracy encompassing virtually every facet of the NBA — from the commissioner’s office to officials to team owners, players, and coaches. How likely is it that all these individuals would keep something like this quiet for so long? Not very. Somebody would have talked by now. And unlike the NFL’s spygate controversy concerning the New England Patriots‘ illegal filming of opposing team’s defensive signals, the investigation into the Donaghy debacle wasn’t opaque and internal. The FBI and Justice Department have been involved with the NBA scandal and they’ve found no wrongdoing beyond Donaghy and a couple co-conspirators who were the ref’s friends from high school.

You can also find some compelling evidence that Donaghy is full of it by looking at the teams and outcomes involved in recent NBA Finals series. If the league was so determined to have marquee matchups in lengthy series that it would resort to cheating, why would the 03 Finals — one of the lowest rated of all time — have consisted of the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets, two teams few fans outside their home markets care about? The Pistons over the Lakers in a mere five games in 04? (A series that still pains me deep to the bone, being the hardcore Laker fan that I am.) Spurs sweeping the Cavaliers last year? Sorry, I’m just not buying it.

Aside from the series themselves, would any small market team owner who has paid hundreds of millions of dollars for a franchise just sit back and say nothing if the system was rigged against his club? I know I’d be demanding a refund.

Officials in the NBA are human beings making snap judgements on a game that arguably has the fastest pace of all pro sports. Will there be mistakes and poorly refereed games? No question. Will certain star players sometimes get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to fouling or not fouling? Sure. It’s all just part of the game. Does that make it inherently crooked? Absolutely not. Sometimes you get the call and sometimes you don’t. Just lace up the sneakers and keep playing.