Conspiracy Theories
Some NBA fans have accused the league of conspiring to have large-market teams and popular players succeed in the postseason. Since 1980, every NBA Finals has involved at least one of the following teams: Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, or San Antonio Spurs. Additionally, in that span, every NBA Finals has involved at least one of the following ten players: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James. Furthermore, in that span, at least one of the following 8 head coaches have been involved in every Finals: Billy Cunningham, Bill Fitch, Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, Phil Jackson, Erik Spoelstra, Rudy Tomjanovich, or Gregg Popovich.
Many of these accusations are based on the premise that the NBA desires large markets and popular players for ratings purposes. Former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson disputes the idea that matchups have the biggest effect on ratings:
| “ | Ratings are a factor, but the 'conspiracy theory' misses the whole point. It has nothing to do with a great matchup, it has to do with the total number of games. NBC would trade a great matchup that's a sweep in a flash for a bad match up that goes seven games. | ” |
Read more about this topic: National Basketball Association Controversies
Famous quotes containing the words conspiracy and/or theories:
“Impenetrable in their dissimulation, cruel in their vengeance, tenacious in their purposes, unscrupulous as to their methods, animated by profound and hidden hatred for the tyranny of man—it is as though there exists among them an ever-present conspiracy toward domination, a sort of alliance like that subsisting among the priests of every country.”
—Denis Diderot (1713–1784)
“Our books of science, as they improve in accuracy, are in danger of losing the freshness and vigor and readiness to appreciate the real laws of Nature, which is a marked merit in the ofttimes false theories of the ancients.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)