Thunder may face heavy penalties! NBA investigates 10 players missing Spurs game; Cavaliers fined $350,000 this season for similar issues

On February 10th Beijing time, NBA reporter Wojnarowski reported that the NBA is probing the Oklahoma City Thunder because many players were injured and did not participate in last week’s nationally broadcast game against the San Antonio Spurs. On January 5th, the Thunder fell 106-116 away to the Spurs, with 10 out of 15 standard contract players sidelined, and only 8 players eligible to play, including 3 two-way contract players.

Several key players were listed as inactive —

Alexander: abdominal strain

Caruso: right adductor injury

Hartenstein: abrasion on right cornea

Holmgren: lower back spasm

Due to widespread injuries, the Thunder’s lineup for this game was far from the dominant roster that has led the Western Conference this season. If the league confirms the Thunder violated player participation policies, they will face substantial fines.

This season, the Cavaliers have been fined twice for similar violations. On November 13th last year, in a game against the Heat, the Cavs rested star players Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley who met the policy criteria, resulting in a $100,000 fine. On November 25th, then-Cavaliers All-Star guard Garland was available for a nationally televised game against the Toronto Raptors, but the team chose to play him the day before in a non-televised game against the Clippers, causing him to miss the national broadcast game and leading to a $250,000 fine for the Cavaliers.

Recent typical NBA fines for breaching player participation rules include —

Utah Jazz (March 2025): fined $100,000 for not playing star player Lauri Markkanen in the March 5th game against the Washington Wizards and several other matches. Further violations could increase the fine to $250,000.

Atlanta Hawks (November 2024): fined $100,000 because Trae Young missed the NBA Cup game against the Boston Celtics on November 12th. After investigation including independent medical evaluations, the league determined Young was fit to play, and the team’s actions violated the policy.

Philadelphia 76ers (October 2024): fined $100,000 due to public comments made by coach Nick Nurse and team executives about Joel Embiid’s injury, which breached player participation policy. However, the league confirmed Embiid was legitimately unable to play due to a left knee injury, and his absence itself did not violate rules.