Gambling in Basketball – R18+ Thread

 Part II of my hard-hitting series profiling the dark side of basketball is focused on…

GAMBLING. 

I bet on basketball occasionally. I probably lose more than I win, but I’d probably only bet like $20 a week. Its easy, and takes me 2 seconds via a mobile app. In many cases however, the stakes are much higher. 

Michael Jordan is a famous gambler. 

People shared varied opinions in Part I on steroid use in basketball, with both sides of the fence very confident in their views. However, remember that if you reply with weak arguements, I’ll bite back…so this is not a thread for those who are weak-at-heart.

I’m approaching this topic in a few different ways. Feel free to bite on any of them.

1) Tim Donaghy & Threats by Criminals

The most famous case of gambling interfering with the integiry of sports, possible ever. He was strong-armed by the mob. The health of his family was compromised…he had no choice to stop, except to come clean. Both choices were life-destroying. 

Tim Donaghy had an 80% success rate picking the spread in basketball based on memos sent by the league about how to officiate. 

Question: Are players and officials still getting threats by criminals to fix matches? Is this secretly happening? Can it ever be stopped?

2) Players seeking financial gain

College players aren’t paid. The majority of college bball players are broke because they’ve got very little time to even get a part-time job.

If you’re the starting point guard with zero pro prospects for North Carolina State…and you’re playing at home to North Carolina in the biggest game of the season, it’s a very easy game to gamble on. Lose by 20 points….sad….unless you just won $20,000 and paid for that year’s tuition. 

Question: Are NCAA athletes betting for their own financial gain?

3) Fixed NBA matches. 

The most common games that come to mind include the Kings vs The Lakers in the Conference Finals.  Other matches I believe were fixed include the Dallas vs Miami Finals series..but not sure if that was for gambling reasons. 

Which occasions do you feel there has been foul play in NBA, due to Gambling?