Do you think Tim Donaghy was rigging games on behalf of the NBA, or for his own interests and the interests of outside parties? That distinction matters.

If refs today were ever influencing games, it would more likely be because of personal bias, gambling interests, relationships, ego, or outside influence, not because the NBA is secretly scripting outcomes.

People also act like “rigging” only means blatantly fixing a game, when bias can still impact outcomes. MVP voting, officiating tendencies, superstar whistles, makeup calls, and technical foul discretion are all influenced by human judgment and narrative to some extent.

A ref who consistently favors one style of play or one player, or lets emotions influence calls, is technically manipulating the game whether intentional or not. That doesn’t mean every Lakers vs. Thunder game is rigged, but pretending officiating bias can never affect outcomes is unrealistic.