Is legal sports gambling hurting the NBA?

All of a sudden, Rudy Gobert doesn’t seem so crazy.

Gobert made headlines for pantomiming the money sign after getting whistled for his sixth foul late in the fourth quarter of a wild Cavaliers-Timberwolves game in Cleveland on March 8. By flashing the money sign, Gobert was implying that the officiating crew targeted the 7-foot-1 Frenchman because they had money riding on the game.

At first blush, Gobert’s reaction reeked of sour grapes. The Cavs went on to win the game in overtime, and Gobert – as dominant as he is – has a history of emotional outbursts. Even after watching the Netflix documentary “Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul,” it’s hard to imagine that the trio of officials in Cleveland that night would’ve been brazen enough to place bets on the game they were officiating. (Although it’s worth mentioning that Scott Foster and Tim Donaghy were fast friends back in the day.)

But sadly, Gobert’s larger point – that legalized sports betting is hurting the NBA – might have some legs.

Prior to Cleveland’s home matchup against the Miami Heat, Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters that the sports-betting craze is starting to hit way too close to home.

“I personally have had my own instances with some of the sports gamblers, where they got my telephone number and were sending me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff,” Bickerstaff said. “So it is a dangerous game and a fine line that we’re walking for sure.”

I’ll share a personal anecdote. When I attended the Cavs-Knicks game in Cleveland on March 3, there was a guy sitting in our row who repeatedly declared that “the Cavs are gonna win by five” to anyone in earshot. Late in the fourth quarter – when it was clear that the Cavs weren’t going to win at all – he vanished like a fart in the wind. I’m guessing he had some skin in the game.

That guy popped into my mind when Bickerstaff talked about the “added pressure” that legal sports gambling has placed on the game of professional basketball.

“It brings a distraction to the game that can be difficult for players, coaches, referees – everybody that’s involved in it,” Bickerstaff said. “And I think that we really have to be careful with how close we let it get to the game and the security of the people who are involved in it, because again it does carry a weight. A lot of times people who are gambling, this money pays their light bill or pays their rent, and the emotions that come from that. So I do think we’re walking a very fine line and we have to be extremely careful in protecting everybody who’s involved.”

I certainly hope the fan in our row didn’t wager his rent money on that game.

Sports betting has been legal in the Buckeye State since Jan. 1, 2023, thanks to the passage of House Bill 29. Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prohibited sports gambling in 2018, some 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting in some form.