Sorry conspiracy theorists, one former NBA referee says stars don’t get enough calls

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Orlando Magic forward Matt Barnes (22) reacts to a call by an official during the third quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinal basketball playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, Saturday, May 8, 2010. The Magic won 105-75. (AP Photo/Paul Abell)

AP

NBA referee conspiracy theories rank right up there with JFK, Area 51 and Tupac is alive in American mythology.

It’s an almost unquestioned belief that NBA superstars get the calls. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James get calls when they drive that Caron Butler or Jonny Flynn would not. Particularly late in games or during the playoffs. It’s probably why the Lakers won the last two titles, right?

Not even close, said former NBA official Ronnie Nunn, as told to the Toronto Star.

“The reverse is true, and that’s something the fans don’t know. To be perfectly honest, star players get fewer calls than they deserve. They probably deserve more calls,” said Ronnie Nunn, a retired NBA ref who now works as the director of development of NBA officials. "(Star players) play through contact that would make one believe the contact wasn’t significant enough for a foul. And then you look at it on tape and you see, ‘Wow, he really got bumped on that play, but he swirled around it and he made it look easy.’ And so, the no-call was incorrect.”

You know who gets the calls in the NBA? The aggressor. Almost every time. If you see a free throw disparity in a game, it’s not because a referee favored Miami over Atlanta, it’s because the Heat got the ball inside, because their players attacked the rim while the Hawks settled for jumpers.

But that’s not as much fun as saying the refs were trying to decided the game. And that Tupac was there, too, in section 114. I swear.