Was there a Conspiracy for the 2016 NBA Finals?
NBA fans love a conspiracy theory, and the 2016 Finals has more of them than most series.
There is no hard evidence of a 2016 NBA Finals conspiracy
Nobody has ever produced evidence that the 2016 Finals were fixed. There were controversial calls, and the Draymond Green suspension before Game 5 changed the series, but the suspension followed a rule that was already on the books.
What exists instead is a pile of circumstantial arguments. They are worth going through, because some are better than others.
The 2016 Finals, game by game
Winning margin. Cavaliers wins in orange, Warriors wins in purple.
Show the data behind this chart
Game
Winner
Score
Margin
1
Warriors
104-89
15
2
Warriors
110-77
33
3
Cavaliers
120-90
30
4
Warriors
108-97
11
5
Cavaliers
112-97
15
6
Cavaliers
115-101
14
7
Cavaliers
93-89
4
So, was there a real NBA conspiracy for the 2016 Finals in favor of LeBron and the Cavs?
If you’re looking for insider-trading type evidence, you’ll be disappointed. Here is the case as Warriors fans make it. The lead official for the Finals had been linked to the Tim Donaghy scandal and was once named the league’s worst referee. The officials called everything against Golden State and only the obvious things against Cleveland. The Warriors would have won comfortably if not for the officiating, the argument goes, and there was money riding on a long series.
For example, Draymond was suspended for his tap on LeBron, but not for the kick on Adams against OKC. What’s up with that? Well, the kick took place in the semifinals when Golden State was losing to OKC. Such a suspension would have likely ended the Warriors right away. But there’s always better TV rating and more money in a championship rematch, so the league ensured that the Warriors would be in the finals.
There were also three series this year when officials came under fire for favoring a team across the entire series: Cleveland vs. Detroit, Cleveland vs. Toronto, and Cleveland vs. Golden State. It’s highly suspicious that the three most controversial series all featured Cleveland and a Cleveland team being favored by officials.
Draymond’s suspension in the finals for practically nothing was also very suspicious. It likely (and did) extend the series, with more money in a Game 7 (not to mention TV ratings), so the league did what they could to ensure it would happen. And then, when it came to Game 7, they made sure there would be no repeat champion. The NBA wanted someone new, and Cleveland was the best solution to the Golden State problem.
While evidence for the finals being rigged can’t be found too clearly off the court, there was clear and utter failure on it. It’s almost universally accepted that officials have always given LeBron and his teams a lot of help, but this was taken to new heights. If it was rigged, we have to worry about the league (and other leagues, since one has proven susceptible to bribery) going forth. If it wasn’t rigged, we need to worry about the officiating moving forward, since it clearly favored the Cavaliers in this series. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Warriors fans, as they were definitely robbed in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Free throw attempts in the 2016 Finals
Warriors (open) vs Cavaliers (filled). Cleveland shot more free throws in 5 of 7 games, 167 to 145 overall.
Warriors FTACavaliers FTA
Show the data behind this chart
Item
Warriors FTA
Cavaliers FTA
Game 1
10
20
Game 2
10
24
Game 3
26
17
Game 4
31
26
Game 5
26
23
Game 6
29
32
Game 7
13
25
Tim Donaghy’s Statement about the NBA conspiracy for the 2016 NBA Finals:
“No doubt in my mind they would love this to go to a Game 6. They are going to show (the refs) a lot of plays that should’ve been called against Golden State that weren’t,” Donaghy told KNBR. “I think they are going to concentrate on Draymond to make sure he isn’t able to be in any physicality, or roughhouse in any way, shape or form. You are probably going to see him in foul trouble again. It’s a situation where they are going to try and get a Game 6 and open things up so they can create more revenue for the league.”
Donaghy served 15 months in prison for betting on games in which he reffed. He was released from jail in November 2009. The NBA kicked Donaghy out of the league in 2007 after the scandal came to light. The same year that Kevin Durant was drafted, in 2007.
So why exactly did the NBA suspend Draymond Green?
Green was suspended for Game 5 after swiping at LeBron James during a tangle late in Game 4. The league reviewed the play afterward and gave him a Flagrant 1. It was his fourth flagrant foul point of the playoffs, and that total triggers an automatic one-game suspension.
So the league didn’t invent a punishment. The debate is about the review: the foul wasn’t called a flagrant during the game, and it was upgraded only afterward. Warriors fans saw a league looking for a reason. Everyone else saw a player who had been kicking and swiping at opponents all postseason and finally ran out of room.
Either way it mattered. The Warriors led 3-1, lost Game 5 at home without Green, and never won again.
Did the NBA want LeBron James to win the championship in 2016?
A long series with LeBron James in it is good for television, and nobody at the league office was sad to see a Game 7. That is a long way from fixing games, and there is no evidence the league did.
HOWEVER, let’s just all admit that the NBA was very happy that the series went to 7. And the Cavs won that game fair and square, with a bit of help from The Block, The Shot, and The Stop.
But wait, did the Warriors complain about the referees at all?
Yes, loudly. Stephen Curry fouled out of Game 6, threw his mouthpiece into the crowd and was ejected. Steve Kerr said afterward that several of the fouls called on Curry were ridiculous.
The league fined Kerr $25,000 for criticizing the officials and fined Curry $25,000 for the mouthpiece. Curry’s wife, Ayesha, tweeted during the game that it was rigged, then deleted the tweet and apologized.
And how about LeBron? Did he mention the referees at all?
He did, though not the way the Warriors did. After Game 4, LeBron said Green had said something to him during the tangle that went too far, and he left the rest to the league. He didn’t criticize the officials at any point in the series. He didn’t need to: he won Game 5, Game 6 and Game 7, with a little help from a small lil suspension to Draymond!!
