The Dallas Mavericks have been fined $750,000 by the NBA after the organization sat out Kyrie Irving and four major contributors against the Chicago Bulls in the second-to-last game of the regular season.
The league announced an investigation into the Mavericks' apparent tanking the day after the game.
"The Mavericks violated the league’s player resting policy and demonstrated through actions and public statements the organization’s desire to lose the game in order to improve the chances of keeping its first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft," the NBA said Friday when announcing the fine. "The league did not find that the players who participated in the game were not playing to win."
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The Mavs still owe a top-10 protected draft pick to the New York Knicks, stemming from their 2019 trade for Kristaps Porzingis.
"The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to restrict key players from fully participating in an elimination game last Friday against Chicago undermined the integrity of our sport. The Mavericks’ actions failed our fans and our league," said Joe Dumars, NBA Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.
Prior to the game against Chicago, Dallas announced that Irving and four other players would not be available for various reasons, including rest.
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Head coach Jason Kidd said star Luka Doncic would play just one quarter, and the four-time All-Star was pulled from the game after committing a foul early in the second quarter.
Entering that game, Dallas still had a slim chance of securing a spot in the NBA’s play-in tournament with just two games to play, but without its key players, the Mavericks lost to the Bulls, eliminating Dallas from postseason contention.
Missing out on the playoffs helped Dallas in its quest to get and keep a top-10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, giving them at least a chance at drafting French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
"We were fighting for our lives, and understanding this is a situation we're in, but the organization has made the decision to change," Kidd said before the game against the Bulls, according to ESPN. "So, you know, we have to go by that, and that's something that happens. So the guys that are playing, we got to go out there and put our best foot forward, and we talked about that this afternoon.
"And the guys that are playing are gonna go out and try to play to win. You gotta be pros. You can't cheat the game."
