The NBA finally got tired of teams pretending they’re not deliberately losing games
On Thursday night, the league dropped massive fines on the Utah Jazz ($500,000) and Indiana Pacers ($100,000) for explicitly benching healthy players in games where the outcomes were still in doubt. This isn’t speculation. This isn’t the league assuming teams want to lose. This is the NBA saying: we caught you red-handed, and we’re not tolerating it anymore. Commissioner Adam Silver put it bluntly: “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.”
The Jazz situation is almost comedically obvious about its tanking intentions.
On February 7 against Orlando, Utah benched stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter even though both players were healthy and capable of continuing. The game’s outcome was still in doubt. Same thing happened February 9 against Miami except the Jazz actually won that game and still got fined. When asked if he considered playing Markkanen and Jackson in the fourth quarter against Miami, coach Will Hardy answered: “I wasn’t.” Just completely honest about the decision.
Hardy’s explanation Thursday was the classic tanking defense: medical staff reasons
He claimed Markkanen was on a minutes restriction, so he sat him. Never mind that the game was close and they won anyway. Markkanen got healthy enough to be on the floor for three quarters, but not the fourth? That’s the kind of logic that only makes sense if you’re trying to lose. Jackson’s situation is more legitimate he has a growth on his knee discovered February 3 that requires season-ending surgery. But even then, the NBA is saying: there were ways to handle this that don’t involve benching him in close games.
Utah owner Ryan Smith basically said “we won that game in Miami, why are we getting fined?” on social media. That’s actually a fair question if you believe the tanking narrative. But the NBA isn’t fining Utah for the Miami win specifically. They’re fining them for the pattern of behavior using player rest to influence game outcomes in a way that prioritizes draft position over winning. The league is explicitly saying: we know what you’re doing, we know why you’re doing it, and it stops now.
The Pacers violation was slightly different but same principle
Pascal Siakam and two other Pacers starters sat out against Utah on February 3, but the NBA determined they “could have played under the medical standard” including with reduced minutes. The league is saying the Pacers had options to maintain competitive integrity but chose not to use them. Why? Because the 2026 draft class is considered the strongest in several years with legitimate top-pick contenders like Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cameron Boozer. That’s exactly what the player participation policy was created to prevent.
The context here is that both the Pacers (15-40) and Jazz (18-38) are among the league’s worst teams
Utah recently acquired Jackson from Memphis specifically to build around him and Markkanen as contenders. But they’re also motivated to protect a top-eight protected first-round pick because if they fall out of the bottom eight, that pick goes to Oklahoma City. So they’re simultaneously trying to develop young players and position themselves for lottery odds. That contradiction is basically the definition of tanking.
The NBA’s warning is clear: intentional losing is done
Silver said the league is working with its Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement additional measures. This isn’t just about these two teams. This is the league drawing a line and saying every team needs to understand which side of it they’re on. Whether that actually stops tanking behavior is another question entirely. But the financial stakes just got real.
