NBA Fines Jazz & Pacers For Tanking Games To Improve Draft Postion

On Thursday, the NBA came down hard on the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers for prioritizing draft position over winning, according to the league.

The Jazz were handed a $500,000 fine for how the team handled their star players, Lauri Markkanen and newly acquired Jaren Jackson Jr., when the Jazz decided not to play both of them in the fourth quarter of two contests on Feb. 7 versus the Orlando Magic and on Feb. 9 versus the Miami Heat. Against the Magic, the Jazz entered the fourth quarter with a 7-point lead and lost 120-117. Against the Heat, they led by three heading into the fourth quarter and went on to win 115-111. This led to one of the NBA’s biggest fines ever.

The Pacers were fined $100,000 for violating the Player Participation Policy in a game against the Jazz on Feb. 3. The NBA investigated the situation and discovered that Pascal Siakam and two other Pacers starters were ruled out despite being medically able to play. The Pacers went on to lose the game 131-122.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke on the situation, saying, “Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition, and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games.”

Tanking has been an issue across the league for quite some time, and the NBA continues to try to combat teams that intentionally lose games to improve their draft position.

There has been an increase in tanking this season because of how talented this upcoming draft class is with stars such as Darryn Peterson, A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson.