2002 NBA Western Conference Finals, Game 6
Among the many charges by sports fans that the “powers that be” conspire to fix games in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the egregious officiating that took place in Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, would be near the top of the list of “smoking guns.”
There has been official documentation from referees — including the disgraced Tim Donaghy — that alleges that the officiating in that game saw to it that the “league preferred” Lakers would triumph over the Kings, by ensuring at the very least that there would be a Game 7 in the series. What makes matters even worse is that most people even in the association who witnessed the series believed the Kings were the better team overall.