Is the NBA Rigged?

I still remember Game 1 of the 2018 Finals between the Cavs and Warriors - the one where JR Smith dumbed out and more or less lost the game - and some would say the extension the series - for the Cavs.  That incident has been referred to using colorful language like "the biggest mistake made in NBA Finals history".  Well, the way my mind tends to work is that I instantly concluded someone higher up on the totem pole instructed JR to throw the game.  In other words, I thought that the contest was rigged in favor of the Dubs, who again if they had lost Game 1 at home probably would have lost the series but instead went on to sweep the Cavs.

So then I brought the matter up to my big brother.  He's is someone who has been deeply and formally involved in the game of basketball for decades, way prior to myself becoming interested in the NBA.  In other words, he's someone who knows so much about the intricacies of the sport that I'd be playing myself trying to argue with him on the subject.  And every once in awhile, he'll even drop some deep B-ball jewels on me.

So I was like, 'damn, look at the way JR threw that game'.  And his response was basically twofold.  First, he told me that he didn't believe that Smith threw the game, as he's 'always been a knucklehead' (something with JR himself confirmed in explaining the blunder).  And secondly - and this is something I'll never forget.  Big bro then proceeded to very plainly state that 'the NBA has always been rigged'.

Little did he know that when he said that, my mind was blown.  Yes, I know some rigging has occurred in the past.  For instance, I remember almost shedding tears for the Portland Trailblazers players while watching Game 7 of the 2000 WCFs.  And I also knew that the NBA had a tendency to favor Michael Jordan back the day.  But concerning the latter, I used to rationalize the rigging by saying to myself 'if anybody deserves some favoritism, it's His Airness'.  And then of course there's Tim Donaghy, whose really like the only whistleblower in NBA history.

So the way I interpreted my brother's statement is that you really must possess a trained eye - having experience as a referee or coach - to pick up on some of the minutiae of NBA rigging.  But you see, the thing is this.  As it becomes more widely known and accepted that an institution is rigged, then those who run the institution become even bolder in rigging.  So for instance we had the 2021 Playoffs, which was filled with enough twists, turns and blunders to make a conspiracy theorist's head spin.  So at the end of the day, the question isn't whether or not the NBA is rigged.  Rather, it's more like just how rigged is it?

And the reason I'm even bringing this up is because recently I was watching a couple of Mavs games that had me scratching my head in the sense that a team would go on a spell where they're continually committing turnovers in succession.  The first was a couple of weeks ago in Dallas, if I remember correctly when the Mavs were playing the Knicks.  I can't remember which team in particular did that , like kept turning the ball over.  But then it happened again about a week ago when the Mavs were playing in Boston.

The Celtics came out hot and were on the verge of blowing the game wide open in like the first five minutes of play.  Then they committed three turnovers in a row.  And mind you, it wasn't like they were playing against the 1990s Bulls pressure defense or any pressure defense for that matter.  Instead, they were turning the ball over on like some Laurel and Hardy type shit, which is very unbefitting for 'the best basketball players in the world'.  And in the process, they actually kept the Mavs in the game.

But then what really got me more suspicious, besides the same thing happening in the previous game, is that the Celtics coach didn't even call a timeout, as is standard when your team loses composure, if that's how you want to call it.  And now that I think about it, the Mavs have really been on a roll as of late, even though, in reality, they aren't that good of a team.

CONCLUSION

I don't really care if the NBA is rigged or not.  Ultimately, there's more important things to dedicate one's thought processes to than how someone else decides to conduct their business.  And even concerning being sympathetic of teams on the losing end of rigging, it's kinda hard to really sorry for these dudes considering that they make millions of dollars anyway.  And regardless of how rigged things may or may not be, at least for now the NBA hasn't reached WWE levels of "sports entertainment", where everything appears to be pre-scripted.  What I will say though, as someone who considers himself a bit of an NBA handicapper, is that there's more involved in predicting which teams will win, especially in playoff series, than simply going with the one that is better overall. 

Also, as illustrated by the current plight of LBJ, there's also a downside to being the beneficiary of rigging, as in once the league decides not to rig for you anymore, you may have grown so accustomed to favoritism that you're not able to promptly adjust.