Mike Bibby answered “Hell yeah” when asked if he thought the series against the Lakers was rigged.
I mean. I don’t know that anybody would have expected him to say anything else.
Mike bibby looks like a clone of his Dad.
Mike Bibby looks like Squidward’s house
Mike Bibby is klay Thompson home
now he’s gonna get his feelings hurt
Man what the fuck hahahahaha
Looks like Wanderlei Silva
That’s kind of the idea.
or anyone with eyes really
Even the Lakers players think that series was rigged
Kobe is on video saying so. (He calls out referreeTim Donnaghy). But also calls out the Kings for missing all their free throws in game 7.
16⁄30 fts for the kings
Webber was buns from FT, less than 50% lol
if you’re relying on him for a clutch play, you’d better give yourself a timeout
Webber was famously an unclutch player. Not sure if he was always like that or the TO in college just messed up his mental but I recall never really being worried about him in big games/moments. Stojakovic was also dreadful in the playoffs. They really had to rely on Bibby in big moments.
Damn, hit your free throws kids if you don’t want to be end up in Kings
shouldnt have been a gm 7 tho, but they did sell
Source? I don’t ever recall that.
https://youtube.com/shorts/8s84-vJMDYg?si=n2RTfRqxvgTP5uxi
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/7yja5rg7if
As a suns fan, I get so angry just hearing that name.
Kobe? Same
Kobe Kobe
Don’t forget the 18 3s they missed in game 7, oh on their home court too…. Was it rigged? Game 6? Yes. But the kings also blew multiple times, they let horry hit a game winning 3 because they couldn’t secure the rebound to go up 3-1. Then they blew game 7 on their home court.
Except for Shaq
Tbf everyone talks about game 6, but game 5 we lost by 1 point with Shaq taking ONE free throw the whole game lol
And who benefitted more from Shaq not taking free throws?
You a genius
Hilarious and sharp point but I have to add that Shaq was in foul trouble all game and fouled out at only 32 minutes (this was back when stars were playing 40+ min a game in the playoffs) - with Divac shooting 10 free throws and Webber shooting 9 compared to Shaq’s 1.
Bobby Jackson also visibly pulled and untucked Kobe’s jersey in the final possession in a 1 point game.
Game 6 was a makeup game for the Lakers for Game 5 and a series extender. That’s the usual MO for NBA as everyone knows but Game 6 was extraordinarily blatant even for their NBA standards.
I was 7 years old when this happened so I don’t really know the specifics. Can you tell me the stuff that made it obvious it was rigged? ‘Cause damn even Kobe himself knew there was something there with Tim Donaghy (edit: added 7 years “old”)
Bibby got called for a foul for headbutting Kobe’s elbow.
Just search for kobe elbows bibby.
As much as silver sucks stern was legit just like a cartoon character the NBA was practically fake lol
It’s very strange to me that people here now prop up Stern
Folks don’t want to speak ill of the dead
Fuck David Stern that crooked piece of shit.
He poisoned our water supply, burned our crops and delivered a plague unto our houses!
He turned me into a newt!… well I got better
He did ?
No… but are we just gonna sit around and wait until he DOES?!
“Shut up it feels true.” -Jim Brockmire
Honestly kinda yeah
He veto CP3 trade to Lakers.
That he did. Effectively blocking Pau Gasol going to the Rockets. Then Pau landed on the Lakers.
Who gives a fuck about that, no one is suddenly perfect once they die
I hate him still for 06 Mavs - Heat
They weren’t watching
They have seen the alternative
And the alternative has been better. People often cry that they think games are rigged for gambling now, but they legitimately were under Stern and it was proven in court. And Stern threw it all on one scapegoat and swept the rest of the malpractice under the rug.
Nah today’s NBA is a lot harder to actually watch as a fan. Adam Silver has been absolutely fucking up the transition to streaming services and the internet in general lol. Stern’s NBA didn’t have gambling and most people generally just had cable and the setup of how and where to watch games was a lot more approachable for the way people were actually living at the time. The rule changes have been pretty bad too when it comes to not wanting to roll your eyes at half the calls (and no calls) in a game but Silver’s biggest flaw is just his handling of media rights
I don’t know how Stern would handle streaming differently to be honest
The goal is to have multiple TV contracts to maximize money, I can’t see how Stern would approach it differently. The NFL does the same thing having deals with Prime and Netflix.
Stern’s NBA didn’t have gambling?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_betting_scandal
The referees were gambling on games they were officiating.
Assessing a technical on Draymond retroactively was diabolical.
That was a well deserved tech, I don’t know what to tell you if you think he should get away with it.
Then why didn’t the refs call it initially? Why not assess it after watching the replay? They decided twice on the court it shouldn’t have been a tech. The league did it retroactively to trigger the suspension in hopes of extending the series
Yup, they should’ve called it right there and right then and they didn’t. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve it.
Silver wants to extend the series, Dray deserves the tech, both can be true.
did you watch the finals this year. wemby committed like 4 flagrants in the finals and 1 of them got alled lol
Yet they still didn’t retroactively apply one
Because they’re not going to watch the whole history of Draymond doing this while assessing it during a game
Post-game they have the ability to look at his history and see he’d been doing that move a lot
Then why didn’t the refs call it initially?
Are we assuming the refs to be competent?
They never would have been in a position to make that call if Draymond hadn’t done stupid shit the whole playoffs prior. He has no one to blame but himself.
Iso Joe has done an awesome job hosting Nightcap without Unc & Ocho this week
I only watch cuz Joe so I’m biased but he’s a better communicator than Ocho and Shannon. Those guys always shift the convo to talk about themselves. Joe has never had that type of personality, opposite actually.
Yeah he is more level headed and focused on the game. Also he is a basketball guy and not a football game. I do love the main two guys but yeah Iso makes the show for me. He is way better than the last basketball guys they brought in, J.R. or Rashard.
Ocho be freaky ass hell showing off his butt plugs and sex toys lol
Yeah but Shannon and Ocho are hilarious
That’s what makes them special
Fs. Ocho whole shtick is being self centered and acting like a moron that can’t spell
Oh ok so this an ‘08 hawks reunion
Yeah he called in a lot of the old Hawks to help him fill the week. Jeff Teague was in earlier too.
He’s not wrong. It was blatantly obvious for anyone who saw it.
It was blatantly obvious that the Kings got handed game 5 also … just more blatantly obvious that game 6 was an even bigger makeup to the Lakers.
I mean it was, what else is he going to say?
The nba was not rigged. It still IS
It used to be rigged. It still is, but it used to too
It is club filled with multimillionaires and billionaires you damn sure they rig it if it is beneficial.
Why? I don’t know the specifics of the series.
Ref went to prison and admitted that shit was rigged
Dayum for real?
The league also then threatened legal action against the publisher who was going to publish that ref’s book.
Game six was fucking egregious officiating not even sour grapes as someone who was rooting for the Kings in that series, Game 6 was the worse officiating I’ve ever seen and it heavily favored the Lakers who had 40 free throws and had 27 of them in the 4th and 18 more than the Kings, there were multiple phantom calls against centers Vlade Divac and Scott Pollard who fouled out in the 4th
Kobe got away with a blatant elbow right in front of an official on Mike Bibby that didn’t get called at all. The Kings were absolutely the better team and should have won that series in 6 games with that being said Game 7 loss is on them. Bobby was the only King who didn’t play tight and played his ass off. The Kings blew a lead late and had chances to close it out but both Peja Stojakovich and Hedo Turkoglu airballed wide open 3s when they were both normally lights out 3 point shooters from the corner.
Classic 7 game series that’s marred by Game 6 fuckery
What about game 5? 5 and 6 were just swapped
He is correct. So was the Blazers series against the Lakers.
That’s the one I’ll never forget. Maybe the most obvious rig job I’ve ever seen
The Kings series was appalling. Bibby got called for a foul for getting elbowed in the face.
Blazers missed something like 20 shots in a row to start the 4Q in Game 7 to piss away a big lead. The only way to fit that into a “rig” is to turn it into a “throw”
Blazers choked that game
F’ Yeah! That game was totally rigged.
Not that I want to see rigged series, but it’d be nice (if we have to have them) to see one explicitly rigged AGAINST the Lakers specifically. But of course, that can’t ever happen.
Both things can be true, and I really don’t think it’s that complicated.
Game 6 was a complete officiating disaster. The Lakers shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter of a four-point elimination game, and Kobe elbowed Bibby in the face right in front of an official without getting called for it.
The Kings also completely sold Game 7 by going 2⁄20 from three and 16⁄30 from the line at home.
Sacramento shouldn’t have been forced to play Game 7, but they still had every chance to win it. People keep arguing like one of those facts somehow erases the other lol
it’s not that kobe didn’t get called for it. bibby got called for it while lying on the floor with a bloody nose
No one talks about Shaq only attempting one free throw in Game 5.
Game 5 was straight handed to the Kings. No one ever brings it up since the Lakers are so hated here. Shaq with 1 FT is absolute nonsense
Shaq played 154 playoff games in his career where he took at least 14 shots from the field. How many of those games did he shoot 1 or 0 free throws?
Once, in Game 5, 2002 WCF
Honestly, still think game 7 should have been played. Lakers shot 10 less free throws, with Shaq getting 1 fta on 18 shots in a 1 pt game 5 loss. There was contact on almost every shot by Shaq and 1 foul but Shaq picked up 6 fouls. I think if fairly officiated, game 5 and game 6 switch and game 7 still happens.
It’s universally accepted that that series was rigged.
It wasn’t rigged.
Players, refs or coaches would never bet on the game or intentionally perform poorly to impact outcomes.
Owners would never circumvent the salary cap.
Etc
I’m a Laker fan and I think it was rigged. I’m not willing to say it was rigged for the Lakers to win, moreso just to be a longer series. Logically the League probably favored the Lakers being the LA team, but honestly the terrible calls went both ways. More than anything, this was the first time that I started to question the legitimacy of professional sports leagues. There’s a reason the NFL is classified as entertainment. I do think it’s a framework and then organic outcomes happen, but it’s not without interference.
I actually agree with the first thing you said. The refs didn’t go in to the series thinking that “the Lakers have to win this series,” but when game 6 rolled around, the NBA did not want the series to end there. They wanted a seven game series, and they made sure they got one. It just happened to completely screw the Kings, because that was the closest they would ever come.
The refs gave 5 to the Kings and just way overdid the makeup in game 6
A little bit?! Those Sacramento Kings were fun to watch, they beat the Lakers straight up but the damn refs wouldn’t allow it
The only playoffs I remember thinking was officiated fairly was the bubble. Ever.
The NBA is fucky to say the least. Every real NBA fan knows it. No real fans think it’s all fair and balanced. None.
It’s my stance that NBA wanted to milk the series to go 7 games. Game 6 is the one everyone talks about because it went the Lakers’ way and it has the most egregious call (Kobe elbowing Bibby in the face and Bibby getting called for the foul).
But seriously. Try to set aside your bias and watch the end of Game 5, and tell me the Kings didn’t have a grip of terrible calls go their way. A list from memory:
Shaq fouls out on some ticky-tack bullshit early in the 4th.
Ball clearly goes off of Pollard (I think, maybe Divac); possession stays with Kings.
Webber sets a moving screen on Fisher with the ball in his hands. Sure Fisher makes a meal of it and maybe over-flops, but it’s a foul regardless.
Kobe goes up for a layup 1-on-1 with Bobby Jackson. He jumps with his jersey tucked in, and lands with it very obviously ripped out by Jackson. No call.
Games 1-4 and 7 were relatively evenly called. Games 5 & 6 were fucked. The irony is that if the NBA had left well enough alone, the series likely would’ve gone 7 games anyway.
Funny quirk of Games 5 and 6 is that they are nearly mirror images. The teams had nearly the same number of fouls and FTA (when accounting for deliberate fouls) over the 2 games. And in Game 5 Shaq fouled out after 31 minutes after getting 1 FTA on 18 FGA and in Game 6 Vlade fouled out after 31 minutes after getting 1 FTA on 16 FGA.
also didn’t the kings shoot some miserable free throw percentage in game 7?
I always maintain that game 6 was fixed. there’s no doubt.
But the kings had every opportunity to win game 7 they just broke down mentally.
NBA wanted TWO things actually. To milk the series to 7, and the lakers to win because the lakers are the “popular” team with Kobe and Shaq that sells merchandise, the more successful that team is, the more money will come in. IIRC Lakers always us in the top 3 selling merchandise for decades and these numbers go up significantly when they win a chip.
The Kings won’t bring in the same profits if they won the chip and the NBA knew that.
Everyone that watched knew this series and the 2006 Finals were both rigged. Shaq has 2 asterisks rings
2006 isn’t talked about enough tbh
Maybe its because I’m a Heat fan, but I feel like 2006 gets talked about plenty. I still see some Dallas fans bringing it up whenever Dwyane Wade gets mentioned.
Yeah maybe I’m just not in those circles enough. I just hear a lot of people bring up the Lakers Kings series (which I have plenty of suspicions about) and others which are far more debatable. I think a lot of people who aren’t Mavericks fans just kinda forgot about it because DWade became like a universally beloved figure
Yeah honestly it’s pretty cringe seeing some Mavs fans still mad about 2006 even after winning in 2011. Kings fans still being mad at least makes sense in that regard.
And I think 2006 didn’t become a bigger thing ironically because of how vocal Cuban was about it. Neutral fans who didn’t pay much attention to the series could just dismiss it all as a Cuban rant.
Lowkey without the ripple effect from 2006 the Mavericks probably never win it in 2011 and that ring was way more special than 2006 would’ve been
Bibby looking like squidward
Is there anybody who doesn’t think it was? The officials and NBA leadership that are still alive will say it wasn’t, but beyond that are there Lakers fans who watch that back and think “yeah looks about right, fairly called”?
The nba was only rigged one time, 2002 lakers vs kings. Every other time it was legit
Lol. Nothing shows how ridiculous the rigging conspiracy theories sounds until you put it that way.
Either it’s WWE or it’s legit. Can’t have it both ways.
https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3436401
Good thing it’s not a conspiracy theory?
Right. So Donaghy says it’s the only playoff game that was rigged too.
That still sounds stupid.
The Finals was literally JUST rigged for the Knicks. It’s not a conspiracy theory because some guy said so.
Even Laker fans thought it was rigged. Me being one of them.
I was a little kid watching that series and even I knew it was rigged
Well, it was.
I am a lifelong Lakers fan and even I had my suspicions on that game 6.
I know I’m biased (user name) and will probably get downvoted but the “Kings were robbed” narrative has completely overshadowed Webber & Doug Christie (and Peja in game 7) completely no showing during crunch time in the series. Bibby & Bobby Jackson played fearlessly but the other guys definitely were playing hot potato in those 4th quarters.
Both can be true
Hey Mike, you know it was rigged in game 5 when Shaq shot exactly 1 Free Throw the entire game, right? Don’t act like it was all one way. There is zero chance the refs weren’t helping your team with that bullshit.
Yeah I always thought the officiating in game 5 was more egregious than game 6, people don’t remember it because the Kings lost the series.
The thing that always irks me about discussing this series is that multiple things can be true at the same time:
The Kings absolutely blew clear chances (especially in Game 7) to tighten their grip and close out the series or cement their leads
Robert Horry nailed an absolute back breaker of a game winner
Game 6 was a disgrace to officiating, public decency, sanity, etc.
If Game 6 was reff’d the way it was supposed to be, their blown opportunities in Game 7 functionally don’t matter as they would not have been required
Game 5 was unfairly officiated to the Kings advantage but gets lost because Game 6 was so bad. So the outcome still goes to game 7 as the Lakers should have won Game 5 and lost Game 6.
I stopped watching basketball for years after that happened. It was that fucking infuriating and I wasn’t even Kings fan.
Well duh. I was like 10 and I knew something wasn’t right
Well yeah, that’s why Tim Donoguy (sp?) got banned
How did Tim Donaghy get banned because of this series?
there is a sign a fan made that said “how can a nose foul an elbow” when kobe bloodied bibby’s nose and bibby got called for the foul and i still think about that because I too am not sure how a nose can foul an elbow
Just making shit up…
I’ll venmo you a billion dollars if you can point to that Bibby foul call on the play by play
technically you’re correct, but it was effectively the same result. the noncall forced christie to intentionally foul kobe so same difference
He nosed his elbow. Duh.
Well, it clearly was.
[deleted]
The “troof”. We need to educate the youngin’s.
Nothing against you, I was just throwing out some knowledge for those who didn’t know about the Kings. I agree with you. I’m just being an unc that won’t let go of the golden years.
Holy fuck that’s Josh Smith?
I implore anyone to go watch the other games in that series. Kings ended with more FTs for the series and had two games that were better in their favor than game 6 was for LA.
This Mike bibby in agreeing with everything he says. He might just rip me in half if I don’t
I’m tired, boss
I’ll never forget the elbow.
You don’t say…
Keep bringing this shit up. We won. Forever. Those fucking choke artists lost a game 7 on their own floor when that was unheard of.
Sorry Kings fans, maybe if you had a real franchise something good would have happened to you in the last 25 years and you could let this go. But, alas, you’re Kings fans.
Other than people who weren’t even born back then shouting “yea it was rigged”, what actual evidence is there ??
David Stern literally sabotaged an FBI investigation into refs rigging games that occured during the 00’s.
The same David Stern that nullified a perfectly good trade that fucked the Lakers up ? That one or a different one?
TIL David Stern was more powerful than the fucking FBI 😂😂. You guys are ridiculous.
The better team won, and I don’t like that >:(
Donaghue had money on game 6 and Kobe was throwing Jon Jones elbows into Bibby’s throat only for the foul to get called on Bibby. Kobe has acknowledged this fact publicly? I know Lakers fans are an embarrassment, but even I have to think you’re better than this.
Oh yes, you’re referring to one play in which bibby clearly got in his space, wrapped him and tripped him. Kobe elbowed him at the same time as he was trying to get free. If you watched the nba around that time you would know that accidental contact like that one wasn’t typically called.
Regardless, the series was very close and competitive. Either team could have won and the opposing fans would have complained and been upset. Calling it rigged because of one play is just plain stupid.
https://youtu.be/8s84-vJMDYg?si=ny8Qeq73hhLAlxgh
The Lakers flair checks out here. I know you guys are all fucking clowns, but you honestly are the first person I have ever seen try to argue that was actually a foul on Bibby lmao.
Did you read the article and watch the video you sent??
Kobe literally says that Tim had money on the game and that you’d have to talk to the kings players about missing their free throws!!
Here’s a simple summary of available evidence:
The “League-Wide” Narrative: After his prison sentence, Donaghy leaned heavily into media appearances, books, and interviews claiming that the NBA as an organization routinely manipulated playoff series, encouraged referees to favor bigger market teams, and orchestrated outcomes to extend series (such as claiming refs were told to favor certain teams to force Game 7s).
Lack of Evidence for Systemic Rigging: The NBA commissioned an independent investigation led by former high-ranking legal officials (the Pedowitz report), which concluded Donaghy was a rogue actor driven by a gambling addiction rather than part of a larger, league-sanctioned conspiracy. Law enforcement officials also noted that Donaghy frequently exaggerated claims or shifted blame to sell books and reduce his legal liability
Well no he isn’t. The only full length replay of the game on YouTube has the french commentary at the time and the commentators laugh about how Bibby is wrestling Kobe before the elbow
The refs made them miss 18 3s and 14 FTs
People say all this stuff but then like explain the Detroit Pistons getting to finals snd beating the Lakers.
That was two years later …
You know a series is rigged when one team uses a foul-on-purpose strategy the whole series and yet they shoot the most free throws.
Why tf Joe sound like Shannon a lil 🤣
“Than the shit I got now”
The difference between F U money vs Forget you money
Is that Georgia boy in the middle?
The same way they kept trying to extend the most recent finals as well
Did the refs make Bibby shoot 7⁄20 in game 6? Did they make vlade shoot 5⁄16?
The Lakers got a lot of favorable officiating during that 3peat.
I watched it live, and I started out rooting for the Lakers. It was rigged for LA, and it’s soiled the NBA for me ever since.
I will die on the hill that the Sacramento Kings are the real 2002 NBA Champions.
I’ve hated the Lakers for so long after that series, and I am not a Kings fan.
Felt like they were strait up cheating to win some of those games.
Did he say, “What if I get finals MVP?” 😂
Kings make their free throws we are not having this conversation end of story
Game 7 in Sacramento was so rigged even the Kings players mustve been in on it cuz they sucked dick shooting 2 for 20 from 3 and an egregious 16 for 30 from the free throw line in a 6 point loss
It shouldn’t have even gone to game 7 because the refs rigged game 6
They rigged game 5 for Sacramento too then
We all cope in different ways
They’re going to downvote me but I’ll say it: the rigging was admitted to and those teams are acting like they weren’t otherwise getting balled up by the lakers when it mattered most, even if they create hypotheticals about what could’ve been momentum.
It looks sus, yeah kings could’ve won if they hit shots however it seems like they checked out
how can nba players shake hands after losses than say sore loser shi like this
And Kobe answered no in hell
I agree the refs where definitely sus but the Kings did themselves no justice by choking…This should no be lost in all this..The moment was too big for them…
I watched some of the series the other night. Bibby played amazing. Bobby Jackson too. Christie was lost - and I was trying to figure out what the kings were doing with Webber- who I think is absolutely one of the most talented power forwards ever. The game I saw he was just being used to set screens about 18 feet out and pass, trying to find someone open. Lakers had Horry and Samaki Walker at the 4. I think Webber could’ve had a better series.
And the game I watched- the kings were talking about the refs before the game and Vlade was out there flopping no less than ten seconds later. They put 3 guys around Shaq and he’d still score. Kobe played great as well- very active and the kings clearly had no answer for those guys.
In our distant memory- sure it was rigged. But watch that shit again- it’s up on YouTube now. Kings really just caved.
And Phil was a million times the better coach than Adelman.
https://youtu.be/z6errSsB4zI?is=6wHTa-rH1wl3cwAD
I stopped actively watching the NBA and caring after that series.
I don’t even like the Kings, but it was so obvious to anyone who watched it.
Younger viewers just looking at the stats don’t understand, but it was plainly obvious the refs and NBA wanted a big market team to go to the finals. Keep in mind, that the greatest playoff performance I had ever seen (Iverson the year before), had just happened, Jordan was pretty much done… I had no interest after the Laker’s/Kings in 2002
I stopped watching basketball after that series
And here you are 24 years later deep in some NBA comment section about it? That’s an interesting fandom you’ve got. 🤣
I still check in once in awhile :)
What series?
NBA popularity after 1998 was at an all time low. It didn’t pick up until LeBron left to Miami
Rigged for the kings. The lakers were the far better team.