The History of Controversial Referee Calls in the NBA

It all started innocently enough, at least that's my first memory of how everything began . The way the games were officiated started to change when DR J was allowed to take an extra step when he took off for his Trade mark dunks. who could complain at the time. His dunks were truly amazing pure enjoyment to watch. I think the extra step came with him from the ABA . Which to be fair the ABA did bring along the 3pt shot ,and the Dunk contest to the NBA. Then the way games were called changed just a little more during the Bird/Magic era. But it was once again a subtle change. Like getting away with a reach on Defense, or an extra step on offense . However at that point at least you had to earn the calls, you didn't just get star calls straight out of college or high school. Rookies, even really exceptional rookies didn't begin getting star treatment until Shaq entered the league. I remember Robert Parish in an interview just after his first game against the highly touted Rookie center Shaquille O'neal. Robert Parish said and I'm paraphrasing based on memory "yes he is a good player but he gets a lot of calls for a rookie" . The Shaq special treatment continued when the league instituted the shaq line a small half circle just under the basket where basically anything short of a punch is allowed and no charge or offensive foul would be called . This was a case where Shaq was already running over or shoving over defenders in the paint right before finishing up with a dunk. The rule was most likely added to prevent fans from wondering if the Refs were blind, or just pretending not to see the offensive foul.

Now lets examine the palming violation a rule that should not be ignored , but it is ignored in today's game. Mainly its the point guards that get away with this one, at least there the biggest offenders. Lets start where it really began to change , where I first noticed anyway Tim Hardaway, A talented point guard with explosive speed and great ball handling skills. Once he was given the free pass to palm the ball his killer crossover was very hard to defend. As we advance forward in the evolution of point guards we get to the pinnacle of palming violations gone rampant . Allen Iverson, a player with even more explosive speed then Hardaway . The amount Iverson was allowed to palm the ball was limitless , Iverson would slide his hand under the ball midway through the dribble causing a hesitation that would through off the timing of a defender that was already disadvantaged trying to guard Iverson. Now make no mistake Iverson was not the only one allowed to do this he just magnified it with his natural ability. Currently point guards such as Chris Paul and many other speedy guards palm the ball fairly often with out a whistle being blown.

OK, Michael Jordan, I tried to give Mike some leeway here because unlike today's stars he earned his calls they were not bestowed upon him as a right of being the new star of the league. Jordan only began getting the protection of the whistle after several years of driving to the basket fearlessly for incredible dunks and paying the consequences by getting hammered to the floor often. However it was still unacceptable to the level of preferred treatment that he rose to , it came to the point where he could not be breathed on while driving the lane without the whistle being blown in his favor usually resulting in a three point play. Now we probably all remember the worst no call in NBA history. Time clock running down in game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, Michael Jordan Clearly Pushes Bryon Russell to create space for him to hit the game and series winning shot no whistle game over , When Asked by a reporter after the game , was it a foul? Jordan said "did they call it"?

Now lets look at the controversial Game 6 of the Lakers Kings playoff match up in 2002. Consumers rights advocate Ralf Nader demanded a formal investigation after a game in which both Kings centers fouled out trying to defend Shaq, who had a dominant game with 41 points. The Lakers had an obscene advantage at the free throw line especially for a playoff game on the road. The numbers, Sacramento Kings 25 attempts the Lakers 40 attempts. And to finish off game 6 Kobe elbows mike bibby in the chin and the refs ignore it in Sacramento's last chance in the game as the clock ticks down. Then there is the Tim Donaghy mess a just another black eye on the league.

Now were in the Lebron James era where he can walk at will and never gets in to foul trouble, the league changed the rules this year officially allowing two steps before dribbling, I guess it supposed to make up for having allowed Lebron James 4 steps when he drives towards the basket since he entered the league. Lebrons a great talent . The league continues to kiss his ring, even though he has not won a ring yet. His ability to run down players on the break to block there shot from behind at the last possible moment is unmatched in the league. But much too often he gets away with a hard foul . And it goes beyond the normal star treatment it now bleeds down to his teammates that also get star treatment even the bench players. It just would have been nice to see him earn his way like players before him. It would also be nice to call the game by the rules. I guess there is still high school basketball