The NBA officially announced Wednesday a $100,000 fine to the Utah Jazz organization for sitting Lauri Markkanen out of the team’s game against the Washington Wizards on March 5, “as well as other recent games,” as part of the league’s Player Participation Policy.
The policy, which began with the 2023-24 season, creates a number of circumstances in which teams can be fined for “star players” — defined as any player who has made the NBA All-Star Game over the course of the past three seasons — missing games. For example, teams are automatically fined when stars miss national television games, NBA Cup games, or if a team representative says one thing about a player’s absence while the official injury report says another.
The fine in Markkanen’s case, though, seems to fall under the more discretionary portion of the league’s policy. It cites "Long-Term Star Player Shutdown (or Near Shutdown)," which is defined as when “A star player stops playing (or, in the judgment of the league office, begins to play a materially reduced role) in circumstances affecting the integrity of the game.”
Markkanen has missed the Jazz’s last nine games due to “low back - injury management,” but is generally understood to be healthy and ready to play.
If the league were to find the Jazz guilty of violating the policy a second time, the fine would be $250,000. A third offense would result in a $1.25 million fine, with each subsequent offense increasing by $1 million.
After the fine was announced, Markkanen was made available to play in the Jazz’s Wednesday night game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
