Angry Birds and the Bizarre World of International Basketball Corruption

Phoenix point guard Goran Dragic is many things: Slovenian, official Suns' team prankster, half of the most famous Zoran-Goran brother-duo in human history, forgotten member of the the most famous canceled trade in NBA history, and soon to be a very, very wealthy man.

Goran is also an international corruption whistleblower.

His September 4 tweet blew the lid off of the 2014 FIBA World Cup "fixing" scandal after Angola's shocking 91-83 win over Australia.

Basketball is a beautiful sport, there is no room for fixing the game like today Australia vs Angola!! @FIBA should do something about that!

— Goran Dragic (@Goran_Dragic) September 4, 2014

And as least one student reporter at Arizona State emphatically declared Dragic's "crusade" marked a day when the "sports world was thrown into flux" and stood at attention. (Well, that, or Dragic merely demonstrated an evolving grasp of English language nuances, and couldn't differentiate between "tanking" and "fixing.")

No matter, maybe Dragic knows something we don't. Maybe he's privy to the back room power plays and corporate puppeteering that have marked and plagued so much of sport around the world. Like FIFA. And tennis. And badminton. And what have you.

Which leads us to the $64,000 question: is the FIBA actually corrupt, too? Is that why Qatar—yes, Qatar—is out here winning internationally sanctioned basketball tournaments?

Well, secretary general Patrick Baumann announced FIBA had cleared the Australians of any wrongdoing on November 26, claiming, "Australia did not deliberately lose a World Cup game to delay playing the United States." The game highlights don't appear to support that narrative, though, unless getting back extra-lazily in transition defense is not considered a 'deliberate' act.

And sure enough, dig deeper into FIBA and you will encounter plenty of strange odors to wrinkle your nose at.

Something fishy floated to the surface in February ahead of the 2014 main event, in regards to Finland's entrance as the last of four wild card spots. The rising Scandinavian roundball power (no Drew Gooden, though) was awarded the last of four wild-card spots, leapfrogging No. 6 Russia, No. 12 China, No. 14 Germany, No. 18 Nigeria, No. 21 Italy, and No. 25 Canada, in the process.

Best of all, the bid may have been powered by Finnish video game developers Rovio (the creators of "Angry Birds"), if Rovio's January press release meant anything:

"As part of the Finnish Wild Card bid, Rovio has agreed to provide advertising inventory in its ground-breaking mobile entertainment platform to the Wolfpack and the 2014 FIBA World Cup, if Finland is selected."

Meanwhile, in much warmer climates, one of the globe's most enthusiastically crooked athletic hotbeds, Qatar, seems to have an especially close tie to FIBA, as well. (Of course.) This comes by way of FIBA's newest craze, 3x3 ((also known in the U.S. as "three-on-three basketball"). Founded at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, 3x3 quickly became, per FIBA, the "hottest ticket in town." The official 3x3 World Championships were added to the FIBA portfolio in 2012.

Doha hosts the 3x3 all-star game this Friday, which promises to makes good on the sport's "location based appeal" with uniquely comfy backdrops. The event also offers a decent financial purse, with some $120,000 up for grabs, and reminds us that the sport's No. 1 player Dusan Domovic Bulut's nickname is "Mister Bulletproof."

Perhaps more troubling, though, were the June 8 championships, where award-craving Qatar "shocked the 3x3 world" and dethroned defending champs Serbia, on the backs of captain Yaseen Musa, "intimidating Erfan Ali Saeed, rebounding machine Mohammed Seleem Abdulla and dribbling wizard Boney Watson."

"This is the first time Qatar wins a major international event. It never happened in football, in volleyball, in handball," Musa rejoiced. "It is one the best moments of my career and it shows that there is an opportunity for smaller nations like Qatar to be successful."

Yes, smaller nations with the financial fortitude to acquire citizens, like the aforementioned "wizard" Boney Watson, to crush larger nations.

Watson, an American-Qatari citizen who averaged nine points and six assists a game at Sam Houston State from 1997-2000 before becoming a Middle East basketball star, added his crowning contribution to the Throne in the tournament's semifinals, where his game-winning scoop shot appeared to be highly illegal (if one's own eyes, or the "TRAVELING!!!" comments left on YouTube from presumably brokenhearted Lithuanians are to be believed).

From questionable Qatari calls to Finnish fixes to Australian allowances, none of these necessarily means FIBA can hold a candle to FIFA in the quest to be sport's pre-eminent international power abuser. But should Boney Watson and the Qataris take gold at the 2019 World Cup—the location is TBD, so Doha still has a chance to host that, too—remember that Goran Dragic tried in vain to warn us all.