Former NBA champion John Salley has ignited controversy with a bold claim that the NBA rigged the first-round playoff series between the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. In a recent interview on Vlad TV, Salley alleged that a pivotal missed call in Game 4 was so egregious, it convinced him the league was actively working against Detroit.
The Pistons, who had completed a remarkable turnaround to reach the playoffs for the first time in six years, were leading the Knicks 79–68 early in the fourth quarter of Game 4. But New York mounted a furious comeback, eventually taking a 94–93 lead in the final minute. With 11.1 seconds remaining, Tim Hardaway Jr. attempted a three-pointer and appeared to draw clear contact from Josh Hart—but no foul was called.
Detroit’s bench erupted in disbelief. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said postgame,
“There’s contact on Tim Hardaway’s jump shot. I don’t know any other way around it.”
The NBA later admitted the officiating crew missed the call, with crew chief David Guthrie acknowledging that Hart’s contact was “more than marginal” and should have resulted in a foul.
Salley, who won two titles with the Pistons in 1989 and 1990, didn’t hold back.
“They cheated the Pistons,” he said. “We had to deal with that in Detroit, knowing that it was an unbelievable blatant foul, and the referees the next day say, ‘We’re sorry we missed it.’ Right there, I became a conspiracy theorist, believing it was fixed.”
He suggested the league had a vested interest in pushing the big-market Knicks deeper into the playoffs, especially given the Pistons’ underdog status and the NBA’s ongoing battle for ratings.
While Salley’s theory is dramatic, it’s not without precedent. The NBA has faced scrutiny in the past over officiating controversies—most notably the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Kings. Still, critics argue that one missed call, even in a crucial moment, doesn’t prove a broader conspiracy.
The Pistons ultimately lost the series 4–2, going winless at home. But for Salley and many Detroit fans, Game 4 remains a bitter turning point—one that, in their eyes, robbed the team of a fair shot at advancing.
