There’s nothing worse than going to watch an NBA game live, only to find out your favorite player is out injured. But what if they’re out without any particular reason? (Now, imagine if this happens after you traveled miles just to support your favorite player!) Well, that’s why the NBA Player Participation Policy exists. This policy demands teams justify resting their best players. But it seems three NBA teams were unable to find a good reason.

A few days ago, we saw the Utah Jazz fined $100,000 for violating the policy. It all came down to the string of absences by fan-favorite Lauri Markkanen over the past few weeks. However, the rest of the league appears to have not learned from the Jazz’s example.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that the NBA is investigating the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Philadelphia 76ers for a potential violation of the Participation Policy. The game under review for the Thunder is the March 7 game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Thunder rested their starting lineup in that game.

On the other hand, the Sixers have already run afoul of this policy. They were fined $100,000 for public statements that were “inconsistent with Joel Embiid’s health status and in violation of NBA rules, including the league’s Player Participation Policy,” earlier in this season. This time they’re being investigated over the absences of Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. If they violate the policy once again, they’ll be liable to pay a $250k fine.

Why? Well, let’s break down the policy for you so you can better understand what’s at risk here for the Thunder and Sixers.

Everything you need to know about the NBA Player Participation Policy

The NBA brought in the Player Participation Policy during the 2023/24 season with the intent to promote regular-season player participation. Under it, players selected to the All-NBA team as well as players who have been All-Stars going back three seasons need a valid reason to miss a game. But this isn’t for the rules. There are quite a bit actually.

For instance, teams need to make sure that only one star is unavailable per game. They must have their stars available for national TV and In-Season tournament games. But do you want to hear a weird rule? A team resting a healthy player needs to ensure that they’re present at the game and visible to fans. But what happens when a team breaks one of these rules and violates the policy?

Teams are subjected to a $100,000 fine after their first violation. This number goes up to a quarter of a million dollars for the second violation. But here’s where things get crazy! If the team ends up violating the policy again, the fine jumps to a staggering $1 million per offense. However, given how high these fines are, the NBA makes sure to thoroughly investigate the player’s absence before confirming a violation.

The NBA brings in a former team physician to answer the question, “Can an average NBA player play through this injury without making it worse?” If the answer is no, well then it’s time for the player to rest up. But if the doctor determines that the injury wasn’t severe enough…Well, that’s going to make the NBA richer, depending on how many prior violations the team has.

All in all, the OKC Thunder, and more so the Sixers, find themselves in a tough spot. Rotating and resting players at this stage of the season is crucial with the postseason approaching. However, by doing so, they risk violating the player participation policy. We will soon know whether the 2 teams are guilty of the same mistake as the Utah Jazz and we’ll be right here to give you all the details!