Longtime Boston Celtics reporter reveals gambling’s effects on NBA’s refereeing, why L2M reports exist

Longtime Boston Celtics reporter Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports revealed what a league source told him about the NBA’s L2M (Last Two Minute) reports and why exist: to keep fans betting money on the outcomes of games by inspiring confidence in the integrity of the sport.

“The league got people from officiating and other basketball people together to come up with a standard on how referees should be evaluated and how the game was being called in general,” the source told Heavy Sports. “Over the years it evolved to serve the different factors that came into play.

“But why do they still have the Two Minute Report now? If you ask me, this is the net effect of gambling. Now the league is in partnership with gambling companies. Objectivity and transparency are a way to maintain confidence, so that people will continue to bet. If you don’t have objectivity and transparency, then what is to say we aren’t the WWE in our own way?”

The league source would go on to tell Bulpett that a big reason why the L2M seemingly exposes the league is in an effort to curb the conspiracies going around that the Association is deliberately rigging games.

“There’s always been the saying that the league determines outcomes and they manipulate it for television ratings and they want bigger markets to win and all the rest of that stuff,” the executive said. “There’s always been that talk, and even if it’s a load of crap, you have to acknowledge that perception among some people.”

Certainly, fans have always been skeptical about egregious ejections in the past, and a league source is always going to cover for their employer.

But hearing the L2M reports exist to keep fans betting makes more sense than any other possible explanation.