Hmmmm... interesting clip I just saw on 2012 NBA Finals

[loafic]

As if a sports league the size of the NBA, with the power, scope, scrutiny and $$$ behind it could be rigged. And were not talking about just match fixing, we are talking about a pre-determined championship. You don't think there are journalists out there offering to pay big $ to anyone who wants to whitsleblow on corruption in the NBA? If it was going on, a ref or an official would have already taken the money and run to Hawaii in a million dollar mansion.

let me just preface the below comments by saying that i love the nba just about as much as anybody

the main reasons for any rigging/influencing etc or call it what you will, is for $$$ & power... david stern has so much influence on what happens in the nba that - there have definitely been instances in the past whereby playoffs/finals series have been "extended" with the influence of referees under the instruction of the league - the longer a series goes, the more money everybody makes and the power/mystique of the league increases with wonderful playoff performances/rivalries etc

check this out... coming from the refs themselves and also experienced & respected head coach george karl:

you make your own mind up

 

[WoobieZarz]

Interesting vid, I'll have to check it out tonight.

But, wasnt there a ref a few years back who was sacked because of match-fixing/influence?? Tim someone?? I don't recall exactly.

Also, the whole Pat Ewing Draft "fixing" is still brought up from time to time.


EDIT:

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association_criticisms_and_controversies

(there's a HEAP of dodgey stuff in there! Search "Conspiracy Theories" and read onwards!)

The large-market New York Knicks, who finished with the third-worst record in the league that season, eventually used the 1st pick to draft Ewing with (who would become a legend on the team, leading the Knicks to the 1994 NBA Finals. Although the Knicks reached the 1999 NBA Finals, Ewing was injured.). Nevertheless, the "bent envelope" fueled speculation that the league staged the result.
The New Orleans Hornets won the rights to the first overall selection in the 2012 draft. The Hornets were a league-owned team at the time, leading to continued conspiracy theories about the lottery process.

And...

Referee gambling scandal
Main article: 2007 NBA betting scandal
In July 2007, it was reported that the FBI was investigating a referee, Tim Donaghy, for gambling on NBA games. In 2008, Donaghy plead guilty to two federal charges and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.