Tim Donaghy: NBA Told Refs to Call More Fouls for Kobe So He Could Score More (Part 4)

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Tim Donaghy has claimed that the NBA once favored Kobe Bryant, guiding officials to call fouls against his defenders to allow for higher-scoring games. He recalled a playoff series with the Phoenix Suns, where the NBA specifically instructed referees to monitor closely any foul plays against Kobe committed by Raja Bell, who prided himself a 'Kobe stopper.' The apparent favoritism towards Kobe did not bother the referee as he saw it as following the instructions of an employer. Their rationale, according to Tim, was ensuring the game remained attractive to audiences, with high scoring and popular players like Kobe Bryant or LeBron James flying up and down the floor. He also mentioned benefiting from the said arrangement by wagering on Kobe, having received inside information.

[aauyoungboy]

This makes me respect Allen Iverson even more. They never called fouls for him and kept calling fouls against him because the nba didn’t like the freedom of expression he introduced into the league .

[Bane]

I really think I'm done with the NBA after this year. This guy is basically confirming what most of us already assumed but it was never concrete for me until now😡

[Iconic]

Exactly what I’ve been saying for the longest. They made it hard to defend players because they wanted higher scoring games for the fans.

[rondoughhowell]

Well how Kobe elbowed Mike Bibby in the 2002 playoff game and Bibby getting a foul called on him instead was messed up

[Loudmouf]

Been saying for over 2 decades they were always calling bullsh*t fouls for Kobe, and they were always doing everything to help the Lakers win.

[Whoisme-ds]

If they did that for Kobe imagine what they did for Jordan😂

[mztareynolds]

Raja Bell! That’s who he is talking bout from the suns back then. He was a defensive specialist

[unsignedrappersunsignedrap]

It’s gotten even worse now with sports betting. The casuals think load management is just that, but it’s definitely way deeper and a way the nba influences games along with the referees

[StoryBoy]

What yall don’t know is he’s still friends with several refs, they still do this

[rayspruce]

Ruben Paterson was the "Kobe stopper"🧏🏾‍♂️😆😂😂

[Juliuz]

I seen the box score of one laker game kobe had like 35 points from 10 shots i was like wtf ? Then i seen the rest was from free throws lmao 😂

[AkonFenty]

Vlad must have a hard time comprehending. The refs were shown calls that they missed. Vlad can't be that slow to think that's called fixing.

[Him_Downstairs]

They’re talking about Raja Bell. Someone Kobe said guarded him among the toughest.

[treedillinger]

This is something people forget about MJ too…in the 80s the pistons fouled him hard…but during the championship run you couldn’t breathe on MJ without it being a foul… and Jordan would practically assault the refs if they forgot.

[FLYNASSRYAN]

It was Ruben Patterson that was considered “the Kobe stopper” not raja bell. But I could see them missing calls on raja bell him and Kobe use to go at it a lot.

[shadowlerker]

Fixing the game for Kobe to score more and he still missed the most shots in NBA history, bro was ass😂😂😂

[grzrbk]

Sacramento kings series explained in a nutshell

[GetYaBarzUpMedia]

They are really trying to tarnish Kobe's Legacy SMH. Too bad he not here to defend himself R.I.P. Mamba

[Rod]

A lot of kobe fan is going to hate on this one🤷🏾‍♂️🤣🤣

[billbangz]

They did the same thing with Jordan, but y'all still don't want to believe it🤣🤣🤣