Is the NBA scripted? As a basketball fan, you must have asked yourself that question at least once, right? Even if you hadn’t, you would still be compelled to ponder it amidst the conspiracy theories that circulate on social media from time to time. Despite the theories, no official claim has been made in recent times that indicates the top league’s basketball games are all part of a big feature film. However, a ‘lapse’ by Adam Silver and co has now added additional fuel to those conspiracies.

Around 54 minutes before Game 7 was set to commence at the Paycom Center, the official X account of NBA memes put out a post. According to it, the official Facebook account of the NBA had updated its cover photo. The new one promoted the playoffs by highlighting Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Well, what is weird about that, you might be thinking? The weird thing is that the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Indiana Pacers, and the New York Knicks had surely made it to the Conference Finals. However, the competition between the Nuggets and the OKC remained. Therefore, how could the NBA have put OKC’s star player on the front even before Game 7 began?

Things might not have been too suspicious if the Nuggets had won the game. However, not only did Nikola Jokic and co lose, they lost by a 125-93 score, aka a 32-point margin! As the Bleacher Report highlighted, the Denver Nuggets had emptied their bench down 30+ POINTS in a Game 7. Emptied! Either Adam Silver has a time machine, or he is just really good at predicting the future. This eeriness was a more interesting topic of discussion for NBA fans than the game itself.

NBA Fans react to Adam Silver giving up hope on Denver Nuggets before Game 7’s conclusion: “This is crazy”

One social media user wrote, “This is crazy”. Yes, well, what else can be said? If you’re trying to convince someone that the NBA is not scripted, and then provide an update like that picture, eyebrows are bound to be raised.

One individual wrote, “Yeah this s**t more scripted than WWE”. Ouch! You know that you have lost the confidence of the fanbase when they compare the alleged ‘script’ of basketball to be on the same level as the WWE. After all, it is no secret that WWE shows are mostly scripted, which some real-life rivalries being used to enhance the on-ring drama.

One social media user wrote, “YALL still think the NBA ISNT RIGGED 🤣🤣”.

The NBA could have avoided these claims recently. That is, if it weren’t for the same claims popping up less than a week ago. This was seen when the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA lottery and will now go on to have the first pick in the 2025 draft. Going into the lottery, however, the Mavericks only had a mere 1.8% chance of winning it. According to ESPN Research, the 1.8% is the biggest jump by any team in lottery history.

This led to many fans questioning the validity of it all, through remarks like “the nba is never beating the rigged allegations”, and “nba rigged”. After all, the Dallas Mavericks being given this favor months after they made headlines for trading away their star player, Luka Doncic, was too big of a coincidence.

One individual wrote, “Its true. It has been rigged. Game 7s exist just to make more money off the fans”.

This individual hasn’t been the only one to claim that some series allegedly get extended to create excitement/generate revenue. The same claim has been promoted by many over the years.

This stems from growing fan speculation that Scott Foster only gets assigned to playoff games when the league allegedly wants the series extended. That theory gained more traction when reports surfaced that Foster would officiate the pivotal Game 7 between the Nuggets and OKC. If Adam Silver wants to silence the conspiracy chatter, assigning Foster to these kinds of matchups isn’t helping—it’s only adding fuel to the fire.

One social media user wrote, “You gotta be daft to think this s**t isn’t on rails.” Yikes! When a fanbase is this sure, then the need is there for some damage control to be undertaken.

Overall, most reactions shared one common thread—serious doubt over whether Game 7 between the Nuggets and OKC was entirely above board. As fans, we may never know the full truth. But this isn’t the first time those whispers of rigging have surfaced—and with more high-stakes postseason battles ahead, it likely won’t be the last.