Bill Simmons thinks the NBA might be on the verge of taking control of the Knicks vs. Hicks game to ensure it’s fixed in the Knicks’ favor.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are already comfortably sitting in the NBA Finals, awaiting their opponent to be determined, as the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks head to Game 6 on Saturday night. With Boston, Los Angeles, Golden State, and other big markets having been eliminated weeks ago, the NBA knows the Finals are about to be a matchup between Oklahoma City and Indiana or Oklahoma City and New York.
And according to Simmons, the NBA has to be rooting for New York to give the Finals a ratings boost. So much so that they might be willing to do whatever it takes to get the Knicks there.
House and I horrified Mahoney a couple times last night and here’s one example — when Conspiracy Bill briefly took over my body. pic.twitter.com/4l6x6AaqV6
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 30, 2025
“If Indiana wins one more game, we’re going to have an Indiana vs Oklahoma City Finals,” Simmons said. “But if the Knicks win the series, we’ll have the Knicks in the Finals. And if you’ve noticed from ratings and interest, it’s a little more interesting nationally when there’s a New York team in the Finals.”
To prove his theory, Simmons recalled the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. More specifically, Game 6 of that series, where the officiating has long been criticized for favoring the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal-led Lakers.
“I’d like to bring you back to the year 2002,” Simmons said. “Game 6, Sacramento-Lakers in Sacramento. If Sacramento wins, we’re going to have a Sacramento-New Jersey Finals. And David Stern was like, ‘Not on my watch. This is not happening. We are not letting this happen.’ And we did not get a Sacramento-New Jersey Finals. Let’s be careful out there for Game 6 if you’re wagering.”
If there’s a year where the NBA might be a little less worried about ratings, it’s probably the season before their new media rights deals kick in. With Amazon, NBC, and ESPN already locked in, Adam Silver doesn’t have to sell any network or platform on whatever the results of a Thunder-Pacers Finals might be. But if Silver wants to give the Knicks a little nudge into the Finals, New York fans are here for it.
Knicks fans have been begging for the NBA to fix something for them since the 1985 NBA lottery that sent Patrick Ewing to New York. After decades of suffering, if it takes the fear of an Oklahoma City-Indiana Finals for the NBA to finally step in and make life a little easier for the Knicks, then so be it.
