Its hilarious how were supposed to think this league is not scripted
TimeDielation
Shaq was heated. Or was confused, was Kenny talking about the rigged 2002 lakers series or the rigged 2006 heat series?
peroper7
The refs push games, the Iguodala podcast where they said they’d need to win by 20 to win by 5 or something.
The refs know which team winning will make their bosses happy, I don’t think it’s commonplace though.
Teams get screwed maybe once or twice a season, the pistons get screwed all the time lol
Supreme_God_Bunny
Wasn’t this around the time where the refs were for s fact gambling and fixing games lol
Sakkreth
That 3peat has 1 legit chip.
MasterTeacher123
I remember prime Shaq having one free throw in the game 5 in Sacramento in a 2-2 series
yokenojoke
Watch Denver vs Lakers last year in the WCF. Denver had to play perfect basketball to avoid refball
BirdPerson107
Shaq and Kenny’s “just for men” game is getting out of hand
brucewayne1935
Honestly, since Shaq didn’t get mad at that, it’s probably because on some level he knows that Kings series was rigged.
dogoodsilence1
I love how the NBA and everyone who thinks Gobert should be fined $100,000 for gesturing money toward a ref is trying to suppress the real issue which is refs rigging games with a huge legal gambling market now in play. You know it is true and the NBA knows it when you do not even have to speak it but gesture it and be fined an outrageous amount of money to shut the fuck up and to show others to shut the fuck up. It is a form of oppression no doubt and this private business knows the refs are rigging games and it is clear as day to fans when you see the number of fouls called on a team or “cough” Scott Foster being on the court with a player he does not like.
pifhluk
2001 Bucks 76ers ECF was rigged too. The worst officiating I’ve ever seen in my life. Bucks were so much better equipped to deal with the Lakers too. LA likely still wins but I bet it goes 6 or 7 instead of Philly getting smashed after “stealing” game 1.
rosencrantz2014
This is why I’ll never root for a Lakers team, 2002 Sacramento was a team ahead of his time and had beatiful basketball ruined by refs, it may not be Lakers fault at the end but still is blatantly obvious how are they favored everytime.
sobanoodle-1
Shaq the only one being reasonable here says so much man.
DubsFanAccount
I hate the Lakers but I would have been more likely to believe this was rigged if Donaghy had never said anything. From what I can tell, he has lied about literally everything. He wasn’t even involved in this series and it’s much more likely to me that he just picked a series people already had conspiracy theories about to try to cover his own ass.
Forte_12
I’ve shared this story before but refs absolutely do something called “game management”. It’s a known term in their circles and it refers to whistling a string of calls to “get a team back in the game”. This is at least done to try and keep games closer and more entertaining.
I never heard about anything intentional about picking 1 team over another but they do try to make games closer.
From my observation though, there is a pattern of calls that correlates to a team winning. Refs generally keep the overall calls pretty even but they can do things to put a team into rhythm and taking the other team out of rhythm. What I mean is this. Team A gets a few calls to start the third. Then, team B gets a long string of calls from the end of the third to the beginning of the 4th. Team A then gets all the rest of the calls to end the game. These are usually calls that put them on the line too. It gets them in rhythm, stop the momentum of team B, while also adding points.
I’ve made a shit ton of money betting on games with this pattern. Team A doesn’t always win but there is definitely correlation to this pattern.
StanVanGhandi
Scripted? Rigged? God you guys are conspiracy minded. This shit with Tim D happened 20 years ago. Why is this all you guys talk about on Reddit?
I think the issue is social media echo chambers and a bunch of salty fans who bitch about Refs. Stop being so soft, blaming refs is loser talk.
rhetheo100
You can never talk me out of the Bucks Sixers final game being rigged in the last couple minutes. The NBa wanted a Sixers Lakers finals.
Milwaukee won that game except for a phantom call for Iverson. And I’m a Sixers fan
h20knick
Is there a good compilation of the worst ref calls in that 2002 WCF?
Not_a__porn__account
2002 WCF could include the World Cup Finals in 2002 which was also massively tampered with.
Anyone that watched it will immediately remember Italy and South Korea.
laz10
Rare Kenny W
also
“you are insinuating refs are getting paid”
What about them getting caught for gambling on games? What about that?
We watch the games, they clearly favour big teams, to beat the Lakers you must be much better, if you are closely matched they win
Party-Ad-7279
Let’s talk about the 06 finals as well if we’re on the rigged topic
A-Rusty-Cow
Sorry Shaq
Elephantparrot
Dick Bavetta was the ultimate company man. When he was assigned to a pivotal game between large market and small market teams, he knew what to do. Hence his nickname throughout the league, “Knick Bavetta” – the story goes that Tim Hardaway dubbed him that in 2000, but I was a ball boy in the league in the early 90’s and that was what people called him then as well.
Long, long before Donaghy implicated him in 2009, it was very widely talked about. This column is from 2002 (What was the most disturbing subplot of the playoffs?) and lists the most suspect games from the prior 4 years, Bavetta did every single one of them.
I’ve been watching the nba finals for a long. That Sacramento/Lakers series was the only time I was sure that the fix was in. And maybe the Wade/Shaq Miami championship. There were just too many fouls being called in one direction.
tridentboy3
The 2002 WCF is honestly really a weird case. Everyone talks about how Game 6 was reffed in favor of the Lakers, which is true, but no one mentions how game 5 (with the series at 2-2) was officiated equally strangely in favor of the Kings. They never called fouls on Shaq that game. He had guys hanging off of him the whole night and he shot just 1 free throw the entire game.
runningalongtheshore
Might be an unpopular opinion but this show is washed.
mauro_membrere
I hate why LA teams get this treatment, rams vs saints is the most blatant missed call on every usa sports.
-XanderCrews-
I don’t know about the gambling thing. But I’ve never trusted the nba since the rockets vs magic series. Games one and two were pretty normal, but watch 3-4. They wanted that series to go on so bad, and every single call went against the rockets. I always assumed the motivation for the nba was to have more games with the players that make the most money go on, but I don’t know. Rockets ended up winning anyways, but people should watch game one and then game four and see if I’m lying.
30 Comments
Its hilarious how were supposed to think this league is not scripted
Shaq was heated. Or was confused, was Kenny talking about the rigged 2002 lakers series or the rigged 2006 heat series?
The refs push games, the Iguodala podcast where they said they’d need to win by 20 to win by 5 or something.
The refs know which team winning will make their bosses happy, I don’t think it’s commonplace though.
Teams get screwed maybe once or twice a season, the pistons get screwed all the time lol
Wasn’t this around the time where the refs were for s fact gambling and fixing games lol
That 3peat has 1 legit chip.
I remember prime Shaq having one free throw in the game 5 in Sacramento in a 2-2 series
Watch Denver vs Lakers last year in the WCF. Denver had to play perfect basketball to avoid refball
Shaq and Kenny’s “just for men” game is getting out of hand
Honestly, since Shaq didn’t get mad at that, it’s probably because on some level he knows that Kings series was rigged.
I love how the NBA and everyone who thinks Gobert should be fined $100,000 for gesturing money toward a ref is trying to suppress the real issue which is refs rigging games with a huge legal gambling market now in play. You know it is true and the NBA knows it when you do not even have to speak it but gesture it and be fined an outrageous amount of money to shut the fuck up and to show others to shut the fuck up. It is a form of oppression no doubt and this private business knows the refs are rigging games and it is clear as day to fans when you see the number of fouls called on a team or “cough” Scott Foster being on the court with a player he does not like.
2001 Bucks 76ers ECF was rigged too. The worst officiating I’ve ever seen in my life. Bucks were so much better equipped to deal with the Lakers too. LA likely still wins but I bet it goes 6 or 7 instead of Philly getting smashed after “stealing” game 1.
This is why I’ll never root for a Lakers team, 2002 Sacramento was a team ahead of his time and had beatiful basketball ruined by refs, it may not be Lakers fault at the end but still is blatantly obvious how are they favored everytime.
Shaq the only one being reasonable here says so much man.
I hate the Lakers but I would have been more likely to believe this was rigged if Donaghy had never said anything. From what I can tell, he has lied about literally everything. He wasn’t even involved in this series and it’s much more likely to me that he just picked a series people already had conspiracy theories about to try to cover his own ass.
I’ve shared this story before but refs absolutely do something called “game management”. It’s a known term in their circles and it refers to whistling a string of calls to “get a team back in the game”. This is at least done to try and keep games closer and more entertaining.
I never heard about anything intentional about picking 1 team over another but they do try to make games closer.
From my observation though, there is a pattern of calls that correlates to a team winning. Refs generally keep the overall calls pretty even but they can do things to put a team into rhythm and taking the other team out of rhythm. What I mean is this.
Team A gets a few calls to start the third.
Then, team B gets a long string of calls from the end of the third to the beginning of the 4th.
Team A then gets all the rest of the calls to end the game. These are usually calls that put them on the line too. It gets them in rhythm, stop the momentum of team B, while also adding points.
I’ve made a shit ton of money betting on games with this pattern. Team A doesn’t always win but there is definitely correlation to this pattern.
Scripted? Rigged? God you guys are conspiracy minded. This shit with Tim D happened 20 years ago. Why is this all you guys talk about on Reddit?
I think the issue is social media echo chambers and a bunch of salty fans who bitch about Refs. Stop being so soft, blaming refs is loser talk.
You can never talk me out of the Bucks Sixers final game being rigged in the last couple minutes. The NBa wanted a Sixers Lakers finals.
Milwaukee won that game except for a phantom call for Iverson. And I’m a Sixers fan
Is there a good compilation of the worst ref calls in that 2002 WCF?
2002 WCF could include the World Cup Finals in 2002 which was also massively tampered with.
Anyone that watched it will immediately remember Italy and South Korea.
Rare Kenny W
also
“you are insinuating refs are getting paid”
What about them getting caught for gambling on games? What about that?
We watch the games, they clearly favour big teams, to beat the Lakers you must be much better, if you are closely matched they win
Let’s talk about the 06 finals as well if we’re on the rigged topic
Sorry Shaq
Dick Bavetta was the ultimate company man. When he was assigned to a pivotal game between large market and small market teams, he knew what to do. Hence his nickname throughout the league, “Knick Bavetta” – the story goes that Tim Hardaway dubbed him that in 2000, but I was a ball boy in the league in the early 90’s and that was what people called him then as well.
Long, long before Donaghy implicated him in 2009, it was very widely talked about. This column is from 2002 (What was the most disturbing subplot of the playoffs?) and lists the most suspect games from the prior 4 years, Bavetta did every single one of them.
https://proxy.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/020606
That ring is tainted
Kenny’s a shill.
I’ve been watching the nba finals for a long. That Sacramento/Lakers series was the only time I was sure that the fix was in. And maybe the Wade/Shaq Miami championship. There were just too many fouls being called in one direction.
The 2002 WCF is honestly really a weird case. Everyone talks about how Game 6 was reffed in favor of the Lakers, which is true, but no one mentions how game 5 (with the series at 2-2) was officiated equally strangely in favor of the Kings. They never called fouls on Shaq that game. He had guys hanging off of him the whole night and he shot just 1 free throw the entire game.
Might be an unpopular opinion but this show is washed.
I hate why LA teams get this treatment, rams vs saints is the most blatant missed call on every usa sports.
I don’t know about the gambling thing. But I’ve never trusted the nba since the rockets vs magic series. Games one and two were pretty normal, but watch 3-4. They wanted that series to go on so bad, and every single call went against the rockets. I always assumed the motivation for the nba was to have more games with the players that make the most money go on, but I don’t know. Rockets ended up winning anyways, but people should watch game one and then game four and see if I’m lying.