The Utah Jazz, along with perhaps 10 other NBA teams, didn't wait until after the All-Star break to begin Tankathon 2026. The Sacramento Kings, for example, have lost 14 straight games, with seven of their top 9 players being held out of their Wednesday night game against the Jazz.
After the Utah Jazz had several games where the substitution patterns in the 4th quarter raised eyebrows, the NBA decided it could no longer turn a blind eye and announced a fine for Utah's actions on Thursday.
On Feb. 7 and 9, the Jazz removed Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. before the beginning of the fourth quarter and did not return them to the game. The Pacers were fined for violating the player participation policy for holding out Pascal Siakam and two other starters Feb. 3. https://t.co/DNTenVwZwW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 13, 2026
In the released statement from the NBA, 'integrity of our games' and 'prioritizing draft position' were noted by commissioner Adam Silver as contributing reasons for the fines. And Silver further states that the Competition Committee and the NBA's board of Governors will be taking additional steps to thwart this in the future.
However, the NBA has really undercut their past ignorance of tanking with this statement.
In past seasons, we have seen teams do exactly what the Jazz have done - and get away with it, no fine or punishment at all.
The Toronto Raptors were the most recent example, after acquiring Brandon Ingram at last season's trade deadline, signing him to a large extension less than a week later, and then not playing him at all the rest of the season.
Now, with Ingram healthy and playing a large role, the Raptors are 32-23 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Utah Jazz took note of that and traded for Jaren Jackson Jr. at this season's trade deadline, knowing that a knee issue would likely sideline him eventually. Whether after four played games or not, nobody knows - but it's not a made-up surgery he needs.
Who's to say the Jazz can't experience a similar resurgence in 2026-27 as the Raptors are doing this season?
The NBA has zero credibility remaining now
Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith called out the league over the inconsistency of the fine, on Twitter:
🙄 agree to disagree … Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense … https://t.co/sHQrggB2Xa
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) February 13, 2026
Smith isn't wrong - the Jazz split the two games in question. The Orlando game was a three-point loss, not a blowout. How was the 'integrity of the game' harmed in two competitive games? And in the third game, Sacramento sat Russell Westbrook, who had played in the prior four games without issue, ensuring that the Jazz would give the hapless Kings their 14th straight loss.
There isn't an NBA rule that states that coaches must play a player in all four quarters, or that they cannot try to get a struggling bench to produce in a game-closing situation.
The NBA does regulate holding star players out of nationally televised games, but that rule has been enforced selectively, at best.
Let's be clear, the Jazz were hoping to keep these games close. And the NBA noticed. But it wasn't something new, or something we hadn't seen before.
It doesn't rise to the level of "The Process" in Philadelphia, the teardowns in OKC and San Antonio that have produced winning teams after tankathons in recent memory. And because the NBA allowed those and other tanking journeys to proceed, they've lost all credibility with the public by fining the Utah Jazz in this situation.