The NBA are investigating the Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to ESPN, the franchise are being looked into for potentially violating the league’s player participation policy.
The game in question is their March 7 home win against the Portland Trail Blazer.
As it saw the Thunder’s starting five of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein, as well as Cason Wallace, all sit out.
It was also just the second game Gilgeous-Alexander has missed this season.
This isn’t the first time that the Thunder have been investigated over injury reporting rules as they were fined $25,000 for a similar incident in Nov. 2022.
Despite their top players missing, the Thunder still beat the Blazers by 107-89 as Aaron Wiggins put up 30 points and Jaylin Williams recorded his first career triple-double.
The NBA announced ahead the player participation rule ahead of the 2023-24 season in attempt to stop teams from regularly resting their best players.
The Utah Jazz violated this policy and received a $100,000 fine earlier this week for sitting star forward Lauri Markkanen for multiple games.
The league is also investigating the Philadelphia 76ers for the absences of players such as Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, according to ESPN.
The Thunder rested their five starters ahead of three crunch games.
As they were scheduled to play the Denver Nuggets back to back on March 9 and March 11 before playing the Boston Celtics on March 12.
The Thunder emerged victorious in their first match against the Nuggets in a 127-103 win before losing to them in the second match in a 140-127 loss.
They also rallied to edge out the Celtics in a 118-112 win as Gilgeous-Alexander put up 34 points in another stellar performance.
The 26-year-old is averaging 32.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and is set to win the scoring the title this season.
It puts the Canadian in strong contention to win the NBA’s MVP award this year with his side also set to top the Western Conference table.
His only competition is Nikola Jokic, who is averaging 29 points, 12.9 rebounds, 10.4 assists this season.
Jokić remains the top three in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals, an astonishing pace with just one month left in the regular season.
If he finishes that high in those categories, it would be an NBA first.
How to watch NBA in the UK
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With the NBA hurtling towards playoff season next month, there’s plenty riding on the remaining games.
Reigning champions the Boston Celtics are chasing back-to-back titles, and will be the first team to do this since 2018 if they’re successful.
Meanwhile, LeBron James and Luka Dončić’s Lakers are looking to win LA’s first championship since 2020.
To watch the rest of this NBA season, sign up for an NBA League pass using the links below. NBA League pass allows subscribers to watch games live and on demand.
- Buy NBA League Pass – £79.99 for the season, £16.99 a month
- Buy NBA League Pass Premium – £104.99 for the season, £29.99 a month
For more information read our article on how to watch the NBA.
