Is the NBA Rigging Games?

by rickynews;

Is the National Basketball Association (NBA) rigging games in order to foster a certain outcome? Many have long suspected the NBA of doing just that, although it is very difficult to prove that such is the case.

I have often wondered myself whether there was anything to do with the conspiracy to rig NBA games, yet I still can’t put my finger on it, so it remains just a suspicion.

A few observations though…

I’ve noticed that it is quite uncanny, in an NBA game vs. the College or International play for example, how one team can unseeingly be so far behind, yet come back and either win the game, or make it very close – perhaps to build up suspense and excitement.

How would the NBA rig a game? Some say that it’s the referees that ultimately controls most games and the outcome, since many points are scored at the free-throw line, and it is free throws that most often determine the game’s outcome. I do accept that referees and officials are not perfect, and from time to time there will be "bad calls" made during play, yet when it becomes clear that the bad calls accumulate to the point where there is a distinct advantage for one team than another, it does raise eyebrows.

Others think some (not all) players, and perhaps some (not all) coaches are also involved.

In a multi-billion dollar industry, there is much riding on game outcomes, not only in Las Vegas Casinos, but also in other revenue generating activities that directly impact the viability of the league itself, including ticket revenues and merchandise sales to name just a few.

Several years ago, former NBA official Tim Donaghy admitted that he was himself betting on games that he was officiating. Where there is smoke, there is usually fire, and its not credible or reasonable to assume that Mr. Donaghy was the proverbial “lone wolf” and the only referee with a vested outcome in certain games.

According to Mr. Donaghy, there were players, coaches and other officials betting on games while conspiring towards a pre-determined outcome. Since the news about Mr. Donaghy broke, it appears he has been quite effectively silenced and certainly marginalized into the “lone wolf” type-cast. We really haven’t heard much about this story since.

It is also notable that the NBA does not tolerate any criticism of NBA referees, whether they are criticized by players, or coaches, or anybody being paid on the NBA gravy train. Why is that? I would suspect it is to limit exposure or dampen awareness, and there’s no better way to do so than to minimize and silence dissent.

It is also interesting to note that the NBA “World Champions” must come into question, since just a few years ago, the NBA sends its so-called “best players” to the International Olympics competition, and although highly successful, the NBA’s best players do not always walk away with the gold medal.

This also calls into question not only the claim of the title and legitimacy of “World Champions”, but the credibility of the league itself. If it were up to me, I would have the NBA send the then current NBA World Championship Team to the Olympics, so they can legitimately be crowned as undisputed World Champions, instead of some convenient excuses that we hear when the USA Olympic Team / NBA players do not walk away with the Gold Medal - such as “adjusting to the International rules of play”, or “the mix of players that are not used to playing with each other” as the other International teams benefit from in preparation for the Olympics.

I came across this video that suggests the NBA rigs games, and thought I would ask the ATS community…Do you think some or many NBA games are rigged, and why or why not?

a reply to: rickynews

Wouldn't the gambling industry intervene (with fury!) if that was the case?

I imagine the not-so-legal part of the industry would go to quite some lengths to prevent systematically rigged games..

originally posted by: DupontDeux
a reply to: rickynews

Wouldn't the gambling industry intervene (with fury!) if that was the case?

I imagine the not-so-legal part of the industry would go to quite some lengths to prevent systematically rigged games..

That presumes the gambling industry is not in on the rigging though, right?

I have always believed that not just NBA, but big multibillion dolla rindustry like NFL and NHL are also in part fo this "scam".

Sometimes, one team losing would cause major loss than the other team winning.

Good example, Toronto Raptors and Maple leafs are one of the most followed teams in Canada. Not just the province but the entire country.

Maple Leafs are so up the ass that normal fan can;t even get tickets any more. Tickets gets sold out to high pay rich players.

When any of the above mentioned team loses(or win), the fans still keep going for those team because they have no choice.

But on the other hand, a losing team(from USA) might get a big loss if it loses.

All i can say is these multibillion dollars sports are not 100% legitimate, im not sure whether ALL the players know or not.

Even discounting the amount of money involved in gambling.... the NBA pulled in 5 BILLION dollars in 2012.

That is enough money to make the games end however they say they need to, if it means that they will make more money.

Seems highly unlikely to me. Especially in the playoffs, over a 7 game series, the best team is going to win a majority of the time.

The video doesnt mean much, bad calls are made all the time in all sports. In the 2nd piece of "evidence" in that video, the ref who calls the foul is behind Jordan. All he would be able to see is the defensive player reaching in, and from his side he thinks Jordan was touched. It's easy to see from the camera's angle that he wasn't, but the ref wasn't at that angle.

As far as not being able to criticize the officials, that's also pretty standard - the NFL has the same rule.

As far as refs rigging games, I don't see how that's possible. Sure they can affect the outcome a little bit, mostly the spread, but they can't force teams to miss shots and other teams to make them. Even if they put them on the free throw line, the player still has to make the shot.

This is coming from a Suns fan, which Tim Donaghy (not Donahue) reffed famously badly and shortly after that his betting scandal came to light.

Even still, let's take last night's playoff games for example. I'll use some actual numbers here instead of just throwing out baseless information from a gut feeling. Here's the free throw stats from both of last night's games - Miami (winning team) shot 14 for 18 on free throws for a total of (obviously) 14 points. They scored 94 points. The losing team from that game (Brooklyn) shot 8 for 14 on free throws for 8 points off free throws while they scored 82 in total. That's only four free throws difference.

Then the Portland/San Antonio game, Portland was 10 for 18 and scored 97 points while San Antonio was 6 for 14 while they scored 114 points. When you put the actual numbers, it's clear to see that not many points come from the free throw line in total. Of course, in a close game putting someone on the line can make a huge difference down the stretch, and getting players in foul trouble can as well.

In conclusion, I just don't think it's realistic to think the NBA is fixing games. Firstly, their reputation would be messed up beyond repair if that ever came out to the public, and all it would take to come out would be a disgruntled employee.

Video: 60 Minutes Report & Interview with former NBA Referee Tim Donaghy

If it where true the players have nothing to do with it as a group.
Most of them are extremely competitive and would be screaming
if told to lose on purpose.
The league keeps records on the officials and know their tendencies.
They could put refs at a game that might give the league a best chance senario
for whatever outcome they may prefer.
The question to ask is who decides what refs are calling what games.

originally posted by: butcherguy
Even discounting the amount of money involved in gambling.... the NBA pulled in 5 BILLION dollars in 2012.

That is enough money to make the games end however they say they need to, if it means that they will make more money.

Money is either the root, or very closely connected to the root, of all evil - let there be no doubt.

I honestly don't think they are.

It's easy with one or two games to suggest that it is rigged, because of bad refereeing calls but to have an actual systematic ring of match fixing would be too difficult to do in basketball.

With soccer, if you get to the goalkeeper, you can essentially rig a game, but with the NBA and basketball you'd have to involve pretty much all five starters on the floor, referees, coaches etc.

If we suggest the players are rigging games then that would have to involve all of the players on the court really, otherwise you're not guaranteed that one of the players isn't going to score 50 points that night and ruin the 'fix'. I don't think in basketball that a referee could rig a game - Not the whole game anyway. Obviously a referee could make a deliberate bad call, but for that to happen across the entire game, or a seven-game series then it just seems too unlikely.

This is the problem with so many conspiracy theories i read on ATS - To make it plausible you'd have to involve an astronomical amount of people over the course of a few years and we all know, people cannot keep their mouths shut. Someone would have talked if it was real, and we'd know by now.

originally posted by: Capitalsource
I honestly don't think they are.

It's easy with one or two games to suggest that it is rigged, because of bad refereeing calls but to have an actual systematic ring of match fixing would be too difficult to do in basketball.

With soccer, if you get to the goalkeeper, you can essentially rig a game, but with the NBA and basketball you'd have to involve pretty much all five starters on the floor, referees, coaches etc.

If we suggest the players are rigging games then that would have to involve all of the players on the court really, otherwise you're not guaranteed that one of the players isn't going to score 50 points that night and ruin the 'fix'. I don't think in basketball that a referee could rig a game - Not the whole game anyway. Obviously a referee could make a deliberate bad call, but for that to happen across the entire game, or a seven-game series then it just seems too unlikely.

This is the problem with so many conspiracy theories i read on ATS - To make it plausible you'd have to involve an astronomical amount of people over the course of a few years and we all know, people cannot keep their mouths shut. Someone would have talked if it was real, and we'd know by now.

Yet, how often in professional sports does a game's final score come down to a single play, or a single call by a referee or official's call? Keep in mind that it's not just who wins or loses a game, but the beating of the "point spread" is where the real $ is made.

a reply to: rickynews

It doesn't happen as often as you'd think. We hear more about the games that come down to one play, or a bad call.

You couldn't really rig a game beforehand though and know with certainty that it would come down to the final play.

There is too many variables with basketball because of how frequently points are scored.

I am not into sports, I don't watch them, I couldn't even tell you what sport season it is right now.

BUT,

IN America, everything is a Business, especially sports.

I would think, to maximize profits, it would be in their best interest to Prolong games, and "series" as long as they can, also Build drama and rivalries.

I am sure it would not be as rigged as say the Wrestling, but I could certainly see a play being missed, or a shot, at the right moment to "prolong drama"

These owners pay these athletes millions, your boss pays you millions, tells you to miss a shot because they need to keep being able to pay them millions... What would you do?


This is not as a sports fan, so I don't know how valid it could be, but it would seem to be common sense to me.

I mean isn't that why their are all these false rivalries in sports, to drum up the drama so fans feel the myside/yourside thing.

Its all manipulation.

SO why not a little more, the question is how far.

originally posted by: mrmeeseeks
I am not into sports, I don't watch them, I couldn't even tell you what sport season it is right now.

BUT,

IN America, everything is a Business, especially sports.

I would think, to maximize profits, it would be in their best interest to Prolong games, and "series" as long as they can, also Build drama and rivalries.

I am sure it would not be as rigged as say the Wrestling, but I could certainly see a play being missed, or a shot, at the right moment to "prolong drama"

These owners pay these athletes millions, your boss pays you millions, tells you to miss a shot because they need to keep being able to pay them millions... What would you do?


This is not as a sports fan, so I don't know how valid it could be, but it would seem to be common sense to me.

I mean isn't that why their are all these false rivalries in sports, to drum up the drama so fans feel the myside/yourside thing.

Its all manipulation.

SO why not a little more, the question is how far.

There's no question that more often than not, a given NBA series always seems to go the full 5 or 7 game series.

originally posted by: rickynews

There's no question that more often than not, a given NBA series always seems to go the full 5 or 7 game series.

Yes, but even I, who knows nothing of sports, or the rules.

Knows that if you take the Best from any sample set and par them to fight each other, it should be a long game not a short one.

That is, if the sport is a game of strategy, the question could be answered by looking at the games that seemed or were trending to end earlier.

Did something happen to prolong them, say a player mistake.

If you could correlate enough you might have an argument, though ON basic premise it would be logical that people making profit, wish to make more,

And that the MORE profit too be made, the more one would be willing to do to prolong it.

originally posted by: mrmeeseeks

originally posted by: rickynews

There's no question that more often than not, a given NBA series always seems to go the full 5 or 7 game series.

Yes, but even I, who knows nothing of sports, or the rules.

Knows that if you take the Best from any sample set and par them to fight each other, it should be a long game not a short one.

That is, if the sport is a game of strategy, the question could be answered by looking at the games that seemed or were trending to end earlier.

Did something happen to prolong them, say a player mistake.

If you could correlate enough you might have an argument, though ON basic premise it would be logical that people making profit, wish to make more,

And that the MORE profit too be made, the more one would be willing to do to prolong it.

IMO opinion, not all NBA games are rigged or fixed, perhaps not even many. But, I think it is plausible that some may be, and some players, coaches or referees may be involved, while many, perhaps most, are unaware and not in anyway involved. In short, I have my suspicions...

a reply to: rickynews

There's no question that more often than not, a given NBA series always seems to go the full 5 or 7 game series.

Well, the playoffs are the best 16 teams, so it makes sense that the games are competitive, especially in the west where the team with the best record wasn't that far off from the 8th seed (only 13 game difference). The intensity also ratchets up several notches in the playoffs.

Miami swept their first round series by the way, and there's a very good chance they'll sweep their second round. Don't you think that if they were going to try and extend a series that it would be one featuring LeBron James, being that he's probably the most popular player in the NBA right now?

The Spurs are also up 2-0 on their series and have a very good chance of sweeping. Teams can struggle against teams that have a worse record because of match ups and play style. For example, the Suns handled the Trail Blazers pretty easily a couple times this season, when the Blazers were hot and beating up everyone else. Why? Match ups and play style. They weren't fast enough to keep up with the Suns torrid pace.

a reply to: rickynews

All sports are rigged and it is easier to do then you think. But I"ll add one thought you most likely do not know about - strobe lights. Watch a game on TV tonight and look for the flashes. There are strobes in the rafters that go off which are used to disorient and put folks, all folks, in a certain open minded state. Those extreme ebbs and flows are done, not always, by using the strobes.

This is one key way they make things happen. Now, their will be some knuckledragger here that will say "oh, those are done to get the fans excited, like the cheer leaders and the music." They are not, when you sit on the floor of a game and look up you'll see what is going on, and when you time them out you will see the flashing is not related at all to anything fan related.

Professional sports are entertainment, like movies or wrestling - period. So why is it illegal to "fix" games if the outcome is solely for entertainment purposes? Gambling is the reason for the law, the mob wants to control the outcome based on a perception of fairness, but all is not fair. Do the players know - most do not, they are under the delusion the game is a glorious gladiator war.

Bought and sold when the Bad Boy Pistons won their titles... I mean, and this is me thinking out loud...they dabbled in it before that (Ewing to Knicks; David Robinson to Spurs, saving that franchise from moving), And by dabble I mean, rigged drafts, steered free agents, rigged games via refs but they went all in around 1990 I'm guessing. Once the Pistons won their titles, it brought in an ugly, star-less brand of basketball. It went against the marketing campaign around athleticism (Jordan, Dominique, Magic)