Unbeknownst to the millions of NBA fans enthralled by the hectic end to Game 6, is this tremendous bit of info–– Time Duncan was ineligible to on the court on the Spurs final 4th quarter possession.
From Yahoo! Sports:
The Spurs entered Tim Duncan back into the game while Allen’s shot was being reviewed. Teams are not allowed to substitute players during referee reviews, because reviews aren’t technically a dead ball situation.
Think about that. Tim Duncan could have capped a legendary career with a game-winning shot to win the 2013 NBA Finals, and it wouldn’t have even been legal. And there wouldn’t have been anything the referees – considering the NBA’s current in-game rules regarding mulligans – could have done about it.
Can you imagine the conspiracy theories and the overall buzzkill of having a protested Finals had San Antonio won the game? For David Stern, in his last Finals run, it would have been a public relations disaster. The last possession would have had to be replayed, this after a Finals podium appearance, MVP award and popped bottles of champagne. Regardless of which team would have gone that do-over possession, it would soiled the game.
