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The NBA has imposed hefty fines on the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers, penalizing them $500,000 and $100,000, respectively, for allegedly benching fit players in recent matchups, which violates the league’s player participation policy.
Both teams find themselves near the league’s lower rankings, and this action follows a previous fine against the Jazz for a similar infraction last season.
“Such overt actions that prioritize draft positions over winning compromise the core of NBA competition,” stated NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “We will take further steps against any conduct that jeopardizes the integrity of our games. Moreover, we are collaborating with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to devise additional strategies to eliminate this behavior.”
The fine against the Jazz arose from incidents on February 7 and 9, when they faced the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat. The league reported that Utah prematurely removed Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. before the fourth quarter, opting not to play them for the remainder of the games.
The league noted that these players were fit to continue, and their absence left the game’s outcomes uncertain.
Jazz owner Ryan Smith did not seem to agree with the NBA’s decision and took to social media to voice his opinion.
“Agree to disagree … Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense,” Smith wrote.
The Pacers’ fine stemmed from a Feb. 3 game, ironically, against the Jazz, when Pascal Siakam and two other Indiana starters “could have played under the medical standard in the Policy, including by playing reduced minutes. Alternatively, the team could have held the players out of other games in a way that would have better promoted compliance with the Policy.”
The fines were handed out just before the start of the All-Star break.