NBA fans were surprised after the league fined the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers for tanking their recent games.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Jazz was slapped with a $500,000 fine, and $100,000 for the Pacers, related to the management of their rosters for recent games.
While the NBA’s effort to reduce the chances of teams trying to tank their season for the draft lottery, NBA fans weren’t fully sold on the idea, given how it was implemented on these two teams.
@GoldenDomer100 questioned, “So the Pacers get fined for winning their last two games?”
So the Pacers get fined for winning their last two games?
— GoldenDomer (@GoldenDomer100) February 13, 2026
@ArtTakesNote added, “Wait so the NBA can tell coaches who to play and how many minutes they should play now?”
And for @SacralizedWater, further punishments should be given, saying, “Not enough. The jazz and pacers should be losing picks.”
The Jazz were fined as they left Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. on the bench during the fourth quarter of their games against the Orlando Magic on February 7 and the Miami Heat on February 9, which, ironically, they’ve won even without their key players.
As for the Pacers, they were found to have violated the Player Participation Policy in their 122-131 loss to Utah when they left Pascal Siakam and a couple more starters out for the game despite being deemed fit to play under the medical standards.
“The Jazz must have refused a trade with the Lakers”: NBA fans show dismay over load management crackdown
Over the years, NBA fans cried foul over teams that try to bench their star players towards the end of the season, especially if they are already out of contention for the playoff spots.
However, with how the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers got fined despite being able to win their games amid resting their key players, NBA fans didn’t seem to be fully convinced on the league’s effort to keep a level playing field.
@HowdyBYU joked, “The Jazz must have refused a trade with the Lakers, so the NBA is punishing the Jazz now. Interesting move.”
@FullAccessHoops wrote, “The Pacers are being penalized for resting on a back to back.”
And @thehoosierrev pointed out, “The Pacers have won their last two games and have only sat their starters on back to back night. Siakam is playing 35 minutes a night. You all have turned a blind eye to BLATANT tanking for years, but now you want to fine the small market team that has a chance at number one.”
With draft positions being prioritized by the teams on the lower half of the league standings, NBA fans could soon see more teams being fined if they’re found guilty of tanking their games just to get the right place in the draft lottery.
