Last night there was a big huge fun controversy -- and I can say it was fun because I don’t cover basketball and thus don’t have to take it too seriously -- in which Steph Curry’s wife, Ayesha Curry, took to Twitter after her husband fouled out of Game 6. In the tweet -- which she has deleted -- she said, “I’ve lost all respect sorry this is absolutely rigged for money . . .”
Part of why it was fun is that . . . it’s not the first time someone has claimed that the NBA playoffs were rigged. As a big NBA fan in the 1980s and 1990s, I recall so many of my friends and, occasionally, radio hosts and such making some arguments that all the big series went to 6 or 7 games in order to increase revenue. There was never a solid basis for anyone saying that, but given how impactful any one or five officials’ calls can be in basketball as opposed to other sports -- and given that, yeah, evidence later surfaced that some NBA officiating was in fact crooked -- you were never going to shut those voices up.
And to be clear, it’s not just the wives of star players and all of my rando high school friends who think the NBA is rigged. Some Cy Young Award pitchers who currently play for the Boston Red Sox think it too:
I believe the #nba is fixed now....pretty bad
— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) June 17, 2016
C’est la vie.
For what it’s worth, I have no real rooting interest in the NBA Finals. Part of me is always happy to see LeBron James succeed because of some random stupid Ohio stuff from 14 years ago, but when it comes to Game 7, may the best team win.
Or the team which paid off the officials the most. Or the team which the dastardly con artists who run the NBA truly wants to win. I don’t care. Pick your favorite conspiracy theory and run with it. As soon as this is over baseball has the next couple of months to itself, and that’s good no matter what.