Top five worst officiating decisions in NBA history
In light of the recent drama between the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings, Elephant Sport decided to take a look at some of the worst decisions of all time in the NBA.
5) Raptors’ Ross Robbed
On November 21 2016, Terrence Ross silenced the Sacramento crowd with a clutch three-pointer on the buzzer to take the game to overtime. Or so he thought.
Amidst ruckus and exuberant celebrations, the home sector started to cheer. The referee had spotted a tip from Demarcus Cousins in real time.
The officials proceeded to confer in the replay centre and, in the end, decided that Cousins had tipped the ball. This, effectively, meant that the clock should have started when Sacramento’s centre touched the ball, not when Ross collected it. In essence, the buzzer should have sounded before Ross shot.
But a recent Twitter investigation saw a user splice the clock when Cousins touched the ball, which dramatically revealed that Ross had released the ball before the buzzer even with Cousins’ interference added to the timer.
This controversy has led to the Raptors making a formal complaint, hoping that overtime will be replayed in a one-off encounter vs the Kings at a later point this season to decide a victor.
But there have been worse decisions in the NBA, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly for the unabashedly critical fans of the sport…)
Even if the clock started when Cousins tipped it, T Ross 3 still should've counted. (@theScore)
— Raptors Nation (@RaptorsNationTO) November 21, 2016
4) Joey Crawford Calls ‘The Worst Foul Ever’
Perhaps the most comical and least serious of all the other moments on this list, Joey Crawford whistling for a foul on Steve Nash is still one of the most ridiculous bits of officiating in sporting history.
Halfway through the third quarter of a play-off game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Phoenix Suns in 2010, Nash releases a pass inside the D and draws a foul… according to Crawford.
In the midst of it all, Marcus Camby was awarded his fourth foul of the game. The issue with this? Camby was nowhere near Nash. If he were to have jumped at Nash, fully outstretched and possessing the superhuman abilities of Mister Fantastic, Camby still would have failed to touch the point guard.
Nash made both of the subsequent free-throws, effectively knocking Portland out of the series in the first-round.
3) The First Phantom Foul
Picture this: there are 27 seconds left on the clock, the Detroit Pistons lead by one point against the Los Angeles Lakers. The latter have the final possession of the game and decide to storm into the paint.
This is Detroit’s chance to win their first ever NBA Championship, leading the 1988 series 3-2. In 24 seconds, providing they can defend a Lakers play, the Pistons win the title.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar receives a pass in the post and challenges Pistons centre Bill Laimbeer. The towering giant jumps to contest Jabbar’s post-hook and forces the superstar to miss. At that point, the Pistons were champions.
That is, until, the officials decide to call an illegal foul on Laimbeer for his jump on Jabbar. The replays still to this day show no such illegal play whatsoever.
Jabbar stepped up, knocked down both free-throws and the Lakers went on to tie the series, force a final game and win the championship.
A fight broke out at the end of the game between both teams due to the absurdity of the decision.
2) Hue Hollins Prevents The Bulls From Making History
The second phantom foul on the list but, undoubtedly, the worst.
This was a Chicago Bulls team without Michael Jordan, who had spent the entire year on a hiatus playing baseball; this was a Bulls team with only Scottie Pippen remaining.
Pippen was the supporting star to Jordan’s excellence. But he became the leader in the 1994 NBA Finals. By the end of it, referee Hue Hollins had reduced Pippen to a loser.
With three seconds left on the buzzer, the Bulls were close to clinching a spot in the NBA Finals. The New York Knicks had to draw up a three-pointer to win the game and force a final match for the series.
Hubert Davis chucked a three from improbable range which Pippen attempted to contest. “Attempt” being the operative word; the small-forward jumped but failed to touch Davis, who ended up missing.
Hollins blew the whistle and awarded Davis three free-throws which, essentially, knocked the Bulls out of a potential historic NBA Championship and prevented ‘Pip’ from becoming a bona fide superstar.
1) The Biggest Fix in NBA History?
In game six of the 2002 NBA finals, Sacramento were one win away from being crowned champions for the first time in their history.
Playing to a level of quality never before seen in the city, the Kings side led by all-star power forward Chris Webber received a level of officiating that, to this day, stands as the biggest travesty ever witnessed in an NBA game.
Playing on the road at the LA Lakers, the Kings had four legitimate blocks called as illegal fouls. From these fouls, the Lakers collected eight points.
Sacramento then suffered three offensive fouls, wrongly called as both were clear blocking interferences from the Lakers (two by Kobe Bryant, one from Shaquille O’Neal). In the following possession of each foul, the Lakers drew up a three-pointer and two mid-range jumpers for a seven-point play.
Perhaps the worst and most frustrating refereeing decision made on the night was when Kobe attempted a mid-range jumper and elbowed Mike Bibby in the face.
Bibby fell to the floor with an assistant referee staring directly at the play. He called for a foul… against Bibby. Bryant knocked down another two points from the subsequent free-throw which wrapped up the game late on for the Lakers.
Ex-referee Tim Donaghy later alleged that Dick Bavetta and Bob Delaney – officials in this particular game – had fixed the outcome of the tie. Both they and the NBA denied the claims.
An investigation ensued, but no wrongdoing was ever proved, however that hasn’t stopped conspiracy theories abounding even to this day.
The Kings went on to lose 106-102 on the night and in the final game, too.