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With around a month left until the NBA season concludes, the final games present a strategic opportunity for teams to rest their key players.
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Teams bound for the draft lottery, who have little hope for a turnaround, stand to gain from further losses as it enhances their chances of securing a higher draft pick and potentially landing a transformational player. Meanwhile, teams poised for the playoffs often aim to optimize their seeding while also giving their star players a break to prepare for the demanding postseason schedule. This results in many prominent players being absent in these latter matches.
This trend led the NBA to implement a player participation policy a few years back to discourage teams from resting players without sufficient reason. Recently, the Utah Jazz were handed a $100,000 fine for breaching this policy. Additionally, investigations are currently underway regarding the Oklahoma City Thunder’s adherence to this rule.
ESPN’s Shams Charania disclosed that the Thunder are being scrutinized for possibly violating this policy during their March 7 game against the Portland Trail Blazers, where they benched all their starting players.
“The NBA is investigating the Oklahoma City Thunder for potentially violating league’s player participation policy, sources tell ESPN,” reported Charania on X. “The game in question is OKC’s March 7 victory over Portland where the entire starting lineup (Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, Holmgren, Dort, Hartenstein) did not play.”
Charania also mentioned that the Philadelphia 76ers are under a similar examination for a comparable infraction.
Before their game in Oklahoma City, the Thunder announced Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would not play due to rest, Jalen Williams due to a wrist injury, Chet Holmgren out with a lower leg bruise, Lu Dort due to “patellofemoral soreness,” and Isaiah Hartenstein with a broken nose. Despite these significant absences, they managed to clinch a 107-89 win over Portland.
The franchise now finds itself under the NBA’s close scrutiny.
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