Over its illustrious 76-year history, the NBA has witnessed some major lapses in officiating and fair play. Time and again, these officiating blunders have significantly impacted an outcome of a game, thus infuriating all the stakeholders involved. However, on a rare unfortunate occasion, a referee’s supposed oversight sealed a game seven victory in the NBA Finals. The said occasion happened in game seven of the 1988 NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers. The final minutes of this monumental Finals game ended on a highly controversial note, leaving a part of the NBA world still frustrated to this day.

Likewise, John Salley, who played for the Pistons side that day, recently reflected on the polarizing incident. While doing so, the 4x NBA champion didn’t hesitate in hurling grave accusations at the deemed culprits, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

John Salley accuses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson’s Showtime Lakers of cheating

4x NBA champion and former ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons star John Salley recently appeared on a podcast interview with Pierre Edwards on Pierre’s panic room. During the hour-long podcast, Salley and Pierre discussed a wide array of topics ranging from the NBA to Hollywood, health, and more. While reflecting on his eventful 12-year career, Salley harped on arguably the most controversial moment of his career.?

The year was 1988, and the infamous ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons were coming into form after making their first NBA Finals. They faced off against the Showtime Lakers from the wild west, who appeared to be at the tail end of their dynastic run. The thriller matchup went to game seven. However, in the final minutes of the pivotal game seven, a major blunder occurred on the court.?

In the final possession, with two seconds left on the clock, the Pistons were down by three points and had the ball to inbound and attempt a hail mary. However, despite still having two seconds on the clock, in a bizarre turn of events, fans crowded the court affecting the Pistons’ final play. Consequently, due to all the hysteria on the court, the Pistons failed to get off a shot and they lost the NBA championship. Many fans, to this day, believe a major conspiracy fueled the outcome of this game.?

As a result, while talking about his Pistons championships in Pierre’s panic room, Salley issued a bold accusation. He said, “…twice, nearly three times, got cheated in 1988!”.?Salley’s statement prompted Pierre to sternly ‘correct’ him,?“Nah nah nah, we don’t call that cheating”.?However, Salley didn’t react to Pierre’s provoking remarks.?

Exploring the controversial outcome through history’s lens

Interestingly, despite disliking the ‘Bad Boys’ Pistons, most of the NBA world collectively agreed that the officiating oversight was a major lapse in judgment. The majority consensus was that the referees on the courtside should have stopped the game and made sure things were normal on the court. However, that did not happen. The controversial outcome also ruined the relationship between Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson.

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Consequently, fans crafted several conspiracy theories which have stood the test of time. The most polarizing and popular theory is that the then commissioner David Stern allegedly intentionally swayed the victory in the favor of the Lakers. The Lakers were the most popular team at the time. Their victory seemingly guaranteed a boost in ratings and viewership.

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However, no one can certainly attest whether it was a major conspiracy or an officiating blunder.