Adrian Wojnarowski has a theory. He believes current fans scoff and boo NBA players more than ever because so many of them have their own financial skin in the game.
Woj dropped the gamble bomb after witnessing Celtic fans ruthlessly scolding Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving during Sunday’s play-offs. Irving responded with two of the largest birds Boston has seen since Larry wore shamrocks.
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Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving No. 11 gives high fives with his teammates in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoff game on April 17, 2022 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)
Then he did it again.
Irving, of course, pointed his blatant fingers at the fans, who undoubtedly only wished him a Happy Christmas.
And they could have dozens of eggs on the line.
“I think you will see more cases of supporters more virulent than players in this league, and that is a problem they will have to deal with,” Wojnarowski said during his ESPN NBA Today appearance. “But that comes, I guess, with the flow of gambling money.”
Wojj’s idea adds up. Sports gambling is as popular as ever. While it’s not yet legal in every state, the industry as a whole has exploded over the past few years. Depending on the state, anyone 18 or 21 years old with a cell phone, credit card, and mobile app could win or lose a mortgage based on the performance of one team or player.
Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving responds after scoring a basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half of the first half of the first half of the NBA play-in basketball game on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo AP / Seth Wenig)
Skeptics say that the mockery Irving constantly received from Bostonians had more to do with his rather poor career in the NBA and his unceremonious retirement from Beantown after two disappointing seasons.
But this is one case where one player faces one former team in a high stakes streak. Woj talks about the whole.
“As gambling becomes more common in the arena, people play and drink almost anything, players and organizations – and you talk to them – already feel it in the arena,” Wojnarowski added.
we now live in a world where gambling lines are advertised in almost every sports arena and every sports news site, including OutKick. And as long as leagues like the NBA continue to promote gambling, controversial interactions between players and fans are likely to continue or even worsen.
“When people lose money in real time and point a player on the pitch and say,” Hey, I bet you will score more points in the second quarter than anyone else and I lost “- you add an element that we are not talking about that much, but there is it’s a real factor in this league, ”Wojtek told NBA Today.
ESPN analyst Adrian Wojnarowski is watching ahead of the match between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers taking place on March 5, 2022 at the CryptoCom Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images)
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Will Irving or fans across the league change their behavior any time soon? Don’t bet on it.
