SAN ANTONIO, TX – APRIl 16: Gregg Popovich head coach of the San Antonio Spurs looks for a foul again the Portland Trailblazers in the second half at AT&T Center on April 16, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. Portland Trailblazers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 107-106. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
The NBA fined the San Antonio Spurs $25,000 for resting three players in Saturday’s game against the Phoenix Suns.
The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a huge 111-85 win over the Phoenix Suns, who are in second place in the Western Conference. Their reward for their upset victory? A fine by the NBA!
On Sunday, the league fined San Antonio $25,000 for violating the player resting policy, despite beating the Suns by 26 points. The Spurs decided to sit DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills and Jakob Poetl for the contest after they played the night prior against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Spurs fined $25,000 for resting healthy players in what turned out to be a blowout
The NBA’s player resting player policy states that a team can not rest multiple healthy players for a game. The only time they can rest healthy players is for home games. Since the Spurs did this in Phoenix, they have seen $25,000 deducted from their bank account.
After last season was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic, the campaign officially reached its end this past October inside the Orlando bubble. The offseason was limited to two months, where the current 72-game regular season began days before Christmas and ends in mid-May. Yet, the NBA is giving no leeway to teams on resting players.
The Spurs were not the only team this past week to be fined for violating the league’s player resting policy. The Toronto Raptors were fined $25,000 on Saturday over resting players and injury reporting.
Sure, losing $25,000 is tough pill to swallow, but we are sure the Spurs not sweating it. Especially since they won against a top team in the West without DeRozan, Mills and Poetl in the lineup.