Adam Silver Slaps $600K Fine After Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers Face ‘Tanking’ Accusations

The league has fined the Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz due to the management of their rosters for recent games.

Adam Silver Slaps $600K Fine After Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers Face ‘Tanking’ Accusations

Adam Silver (Image via Firstsportz)

In Short
  • NBA commissioner Adam Silver fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for roster management related to recent games.
  • The fines were imposed due to accusations of tanking, with both teams struggling in the standings this season.
  • Silver announced plans for further measures to address tanking and maintain the integrity of NBA competition.

It looks like NBA commissioner Adam Silver has finally taken action on the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers for their actions over their last few games. The Jazz organization has been fined $500,000, and the Pacers $100,000.

Both the Pacers and the Jazz have been poor and struggled to find wins this season. The Pacers are currently placed at 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-40 record. A season-ending injury to star player Tyrese Haliburton during the NBA Finals last year is one of the main reasons for their poor campaign.

The Jazz and head coach Will Hardy are currently in the process of rebuilding their team. After 56 games, they find themselves at 13th place in the Western Conference standings with an 18-38 record. However, it appears that the Jazz have found a loophole to exploit tanking, and Hardy did not even try to hide it.

This is not the first time the Jazz have come under the scanner for tanking. They have been guilty of it in the past few seasons. While the NBA have been strictly against tanking over the last few years, the Jazz seem to have found a way to avoid any consequences.

Usually, tanking is more or less official when the team’s top players begin to miss games. However, that has not been the case with the Jazz this season. Lauri Markkanen, who has been in the trade rumors for a while, and recently acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. were in the lineup against the Heat. But the biggest surprise to everyone was when Hardy sat out two All-Star players in the fourth quarter of their close game.

NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news of Adam Silver taking action on the two teams. Charania reported:

The NBA has fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 related to the management of their rosters for recent games.

The Jazz have been fined for conduct detrimental to the league related to the team’s games against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 7 and the Miami Heat on Feb. 9. Meanwhile, the fine imposed on the Pacers is for violating the Player Participation Policy in connection with the team’s game against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3.

Fans react to NBA fining the Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz

With a talented 2026 class coming up, it is not surprising that teams are finding ways to tank as the 2025-26 campaign progresses. 

The fans took to the internet to express their opinions on the fines imposed on the two teams.

Several NBA fans did not seem very pleased with the fines imposed and felt the two teams deserved harsher punishment. They felt the NBA should strip them of their picks or draft capital. The fines imposed on the organizations are peanuts in comparison to their revenues.

Adam Silver assures that the NBA will implement measures to root out tanking

Tanking is an issue the NBA has been dealing with for quite some time now. It is never appealing when teams begin to tank. Fans spend their hard-earned money only to be treated to G League and role players in action.

In addition to the fines, Silver said in an NBA news release that the league is seeking to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.

Adam Silver
Adam Silver (Image credits – ESPN)

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. Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.

The NBA have taken various steps to prevent teams from taking such calls in the middle of the season. The play-in tournament was introduced to stop tanking. While there have been improvements, it is a problem that may never get completely resolved.

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