John Salley thinks the Knicks vs. Pistons series was fixed: “Right there I became a conspiracy theorist” originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Most consider the Detroit Pistons‘ 2024-25 campaign a huge success. After all, they became the first team in NBA history to secure a playoff spot after having the worst league record in the previous season. They also had the sixth-biggest turnaround in NBA history, going from 14 to 43 wins.
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But for John Salley, the Pistons’ postseason run came with a bitter taste after the Knicks beat them in the first round.
Salley believes his Pistons were cheated
There’s no denying that the Pistons were one of the most surprising stories of this year. Their blend of youth and veterans — combined with a never-back-down mentality — made them a legit playoff team.
However, the turning point came in Game 4. In a moment now being talked about as one of the most controversial of the 2025 postseason, referee David Guthrie chose not to call a foul on Tim Hardaway Jr. as Josh Hart made clear contact with him on the potential game-winning 3-point shot. The no-call proved pivotal as the Knicks took a 3-1 lead by securing a 94-93 win.
Hours later, the league admitted to the officiating mistake, confirming that Hart indeed made contact with Hardaway Jr., which went unnoticed.
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That was all the confirmation Salley needed to back up his theory that the league does things necessary to push large-market teams deeper into the playoffs.
“First, we gotta go on — they cheated the Pistons,” Salley said with a subtle smirk during his interview with DJ Vlad. “That’s the first thing. We had to deal with that in Detroit knowing that it was an unbelievable blatant foul and the referees the next day say, ‘We’re sorry we missed it.’ Right there, I became a conspiracy theorist believing it was fixed.”
The NBA wants its business to thrive
With the 2025 NBA Finals series opener between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers reportedly drawing historic low viewership numbers, Salley’s assessment does make a lot of sense. Fans want to watch the biggest stars on the most iconic teams battle it out. Thus, forcing a team like the Knicks deeper into the playoffs to face the Boston Celtics in the conference finals would have brought better results from a business standpoint.
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Still, for Detroit — or any other small market team in the Association — it’s about controlling the controllables. That’s why the front office should do whatever it takes to improve the roster and build off the momentum they’ve gained with their 2024-25 season.
Could they bring in a superstar and force the NBA to pay attention, even if they’re not from one of the league’s glitzier zip codes? All those speculations will be answered in the upcoming summer.
What’s certain, though, is that the core of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson will keep the Pistons relevant. J.B. Bickerstaff has done an incredible job with his squad; now, it’s all about taking that next step, regardless of whether the NBA wants to see it.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.