Do You Believe That Championships Are Legit? Could Games Be Thrown To Benefit A Pre-Selected Team So It Will Be The Champion?

Someone on another site had predicted that Thunder would win the NBA basketball championship this year. Sure enough it did. Someone posted a photo of their buses which in miraculous time had been specially painted to reflect the champion win. I went to Walmart this afternoon and a lot of merchandise for the Thunder, champion t-shirts and big displays with their Bison mascot cut-out holding the merchandise. If all the Walmart stores in central Oklahoma had those displays it must have took some time and planning to create the artwork on them and manufacture them. Then ship them out and have them delivered to individual stores to set them up for the merchandise. It made me feel like maybe it was planned months and months in advance.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

AnotherUniverse · 41-45, M

You asked for it…..

Wow, that’s a whole conspiracy smoothie you’ve got going there. Let’s unpack it with a little logic and a lot less tinfoil.

First off—yes, championship merch rolls out fast, but that’s because every major retailer preps both teams’ gear ahead of time. It’s not a secret plot—it’s just business. When the Super Bowl or NBA Finals come around, they print and ship both outcomes so they’re ready to sell immediately. The loser’s gear? It gets recycled, destroyed, or donated overseas. Nothing miraculous there—just logistics.

As for the Thunder’s championship being “pre-selected,” that ignores actual basketball. OKC was a legit threat all season. They didn’t sneak in the backdoor. They were the No. 1 seed in the West, had an elite young core, and played with chemistry and depth. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was an MVP finalist for a reason.

Now, let’s talk Halliburton. Before his injury, the Pacers were dangerous—fast, fun, and efficient. But after his hamstring issue, he wasn’t the same player. It’s not a conspiracy that a team missing its engine doesn’t go as far. Injuries matter. Always have.

So, no—games aren’t being thrown, and Adam Silver isn’t pulling strings in some shadowy room with a giant OKC bison mascot standing behind him. The Thunder won because they built a strong team, played their asses off, and took advantage of opportunities—like all champions do.