The NBA Is Not Rigged

Well it’s that time of year again. The NBA playoffs are nearing the Finals and every fan of the 28 teams who will not make it to June are unhappy.

With this unhappiness comes the conspiracy theories, and thus, the NBA is put under the same spectrum as 9/11 (ala Zeitgeist).

Fret not, loyal basketball fans. For those of us who appreciate the game more than our team, I am here to support the argument that the NBA is in fact, not rigged.

1) Why did the Los Angeles Lakers not make it to the NBA Finals this year?

The Lakers’ are any conspirators dream! Huge market (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA – 17,775,984 in 2010), one of the most marketable players since Jordan (if not THE most marketable) in the game in Kobe Bryant, a legendary coach in Phil Jackson, and a plethora of popular players (Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Fisher). The storyline of Kobe Bryant finally getting his sixth ring (and therefore being as good as MJ) didn’t even occur. This storyline would have brought any NBA fan to watch the finals, but Stern failed to will it. Why would Stern not want them in the Finals every year? The NBA would make MAD money on the Lakers, no matter how sick anyone is of them….after all, they are the 2nd most successful franchise in league history!

2) Only 1 Series so far went to 7 Games

For the NBA, more games = more money. Plain and simple. Yet only the Oklahoma City – Memphis series went to 7 games, with OKC ultimately prevailing. Why is that? Surely a Boston/NYK series going 7 games would make sense for the NBA….huge markets, more games = unbelievable amounts of money! And yet, that’s not what happened.

3) Speaking of Memphis…

Why in the hell would the NBA let Memphis make a run? Memphis is the NBA’s 2nd smallest media market…and 48th in the country overall (see here). What does that mean? MEMPHIS DOESN’T MAKE THE NBA SIGNIFICANT MONEY. But okay, Memphis would gain a national audience because they were a big upset, right? Big upsets = Big Money = Rigged NBA!

Not. Memphis matched up INCREDIBLY well with San Antonio. Duncan is a shade of his former, glorious self. The Spurs were fire during the regular season…yet slowly, they dwindled down the stretch, and ended as the 2nd best team in the league. Why? They are old. And they got tired. They did not have the size and athleticism to match up with Memphis. Why did Memphis take OKC to 7 games? Because it was like they were playing themselves. Young, athletic, and energetic.

4) The Free Throw Discrepancy from the Current Era of the NBA Playoffs to 20 years ago

In 1991, the total FTA by all 16 playoff teams was 256. Currently, with 1 game left in the Eastern Conference Finals, the NBA is at 236 (which means come the start of this year’s Finals, the current NBA Playoffs will probably have more FTA’s than the entire Playoffs in 1991). That could only mean that the NBA is rigged, correct?

No. Why not, you ask? The rules nowadays compared to 20 years ago are starkly different…as is the game. The game is faster and has more contact. The players are bigger, stronger, and faster. The NBA’s primary concern is to protect its players. Don’t get me wrong, star players usually get the benefit of the doubt 9 times out of 10…but to use it as an excuse in every game? Foolish.

Let me remind you that the Hand Checking rule has been implemented in the NBA, as have many other rules. I urge you to watch this video to understand the rule.

Another big thing is the reintroduction of the Zone Defense. In the 90′s the Zone Defense was illegal in the NBA. Any form of zone defense was considered a violation and resulted in a warning or a technical. In the spring of 2001 the rule was changed to its current form as part of an initiative to speed up play in the NBA (Defensive 3-Second Violation come to mind?).

For a full list on the rule changes throughout NBA History, go here.

5) Why did Oklahoma City not beat Dallas?

Think about it. You have a recently relocated team who over the past two years have exploded in terms of success and popularity. Sure, OKC is a small market (3rd smallest in the league, 45th in the country), and Dallas is huge. But wait…Oklahoma City has one thing Dallas doesn’t. His name is Kevin Durant. Not only is he the league’s most humble superstar, but this guy has led the NBA in scoring over the past 2 seasons. People LOVE this guy as a player. He doesn’t demand the attention that players like Kobe and Lebron do. He goes out there and plays for the love of the game. Not to mention, he has a teammate who is becoming quite popular in Russell Westbrook. Durant was 7th this past year in jersey sales. Dallas’ biggest superstar is Dirk, who was not even in the top 10. Durant is more marketable. Yet Dirk and the Mavericks dismantled a very good OKC team.

If that isn’t enough to convince you, then I urge you to look at two more posts:

1. David Aldridge’s take on the NBA being rigged

2. Our very own ricky9′s take on the NBA Not Being Rigged from last season’s playoffs

Convinced? Or are you still conspiring?

- ASJ