NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on games he officiated. He went to prison. The question remains: was he the only one? The FBI investigated and found "no evidence of a wider conspiracy." But the trust damage was permanent. Every bad call gets a "the fix is in" tweet now.
Ron Artest went into the stands and punched a fan. The most infamous moment in NBA history. 9 players were suspended for a combined 146 games. Artest lost $5M in salary. The incident led to stricter arena security and alcohol sales limits that still exist today.
Stars sitting out healthy to preserve their bodies. Fans pay $500 for tickets and Kawhi Leonard doesn't play. The NBA fined teams and created a new participation policy (2023). Players argue longevity matters more than regular season games. Fans argue they deserve to see who they paid for.
Philadelphia deliberately lost for 4 years to accumulate draft picks. "Trust the Process" became a mantra. They got Embiid and Simmons. Simmons refused to shoot. The Process produced zero championships. The NBA created the play-in tournament partly to discourage tanking. It hasn't worked.