NBA reportedly investigating Thunder, 76ers for Player Participation Policy violations

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With a month to go in the NBA season, there are eight teams (conservatively, you could argue 10) more focused as an organization on lottery odds than winning games. Or, to put it bluntly, they are tanking with their eyes on Cooper Flagg. That means a lot of good players are missing games for dodgy reasons.

The NBA is pushing those teams to keep their best players on the court. The league already fined the Utah Jazz $100,000 for not playing Lauri Markkanen against the Wizards and in other games — and, shockingly, he was suddenly available for the next game after the fine. Now, Shams Charania of ESPN reports that both the Thunder and 76ers are being investigated for violating the league’s Player Participation Policy.

The Thunder are not tanking — they have run away with the West at 54-12 — but on March 7 they sat six key players (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace) in what was still a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Only two of those players, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, meet the NBA’s qualifications for a star player under the league’s Player Participation Policy (an All-Star the last three years), but sitting that many players raised eyebrows. Still, this was a home game that was not nationally televised in the middle of a brutal stretch of games, so it’s a little difficult to get worked up over OKC’s decision.

The NBA is hilarious for “investigating” that Portland game. Common sense tells you everything you need to know. NBA forced them to go through a brutal post-ASB schedule and planted that game right before a B2B that the league wanted showcased. All but Shai dealt with alignments.

— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) March 15, 2025

The league is investigating Philadelphia “for the recent absences of players such as Paul George (knee, back, finger) and Tyrese Maxey (back, finger),” according to the ESPN report. George has admitted he is playing through pain and, with the 76ers season all but over, he will be meeting with doctors about treatment for his…

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Source link : https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/nba-reportedly-investigating-thunder-76ers-for-player-participation-policy-violations

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Publish date : 2025-03-15 16:40:00

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