NBA Officiating
Officiating today is Unreliable and Highly Inconsistent
As of this writing in 2020, the major results of the NBA games are largely determined by the officiating. If a percentage could be given to the influence of officiating (which is impossible, but just for argument's sake) it would be 60% or more. In other words, what the basketball players actually do as far as playing the game cannot override what the officials are doing. Or rarely, at best.
Was it always like this?
To various degrees, yes. But not like today where you have to attribute the results mostly to the officiating.
What is the impact of this on the NBA?
The significance of this is widespread and encompassing. It defines the overall environment of the league.
Stars
A player cannot just rely on his basketball skills to be successfull. Without favorable officiating, rarely will a player be able to achieve the level of stardom currently enjoyed by the league's stars. It might be impossible, but that's hard to say definitively. Regardless, the role the officiating plays cannot be ignored if an accurate explanation for the development of star players (and associated succcesses) is in question.
Statistics
On a similar not, all statistics generated by the gameplay are unreliable for most analysis largely due to the officiating. Since the stats do not contain numerical data about the officiating, there is no way to go through the data and figure out or explain what is happening. The highly inconsistent officiating in the NBA is the primary reason why various gimmicks (see [[NBA gimmicks]]#) are utilized by the players to achieve real success.
Past Players & Past Performances
A huge part of the entertianment of sports is comparing the performances today with those of the past. However, since the way the game is officiated has varied so much over the years to the point it has got today, makes comparisons that do not include officiating as a factor completely unreliable and, frankly, an excercise in futility.
The Taboo Aspect
Perhaps the worst effect of this is the resulting taboo nature of even discussing officiating. It is very frowned upon to discuss the officials at length in nearly any forum dedicated to the discussion of basketball. Whether it is the sports talk shows, podcasts, twiiter, etc., an individual will encounter a lot of pressure to cease discussing anything regarding officiating.
The NBA's Fines
The largest fines the NBA levies against their employees is usually due to criticism of the officials. More than drug violations, most forms of violence, drug use, crimes, etc. the NBA itself attaches the greatest fines to the criticisms of the officials, historically speaking. This, alone, should indicate the NBA's deliberate attempt to make officiating a taboo subject.