Two Teams Fined For Violating Injury Report Rules

With the NBA widely embracing betting on its games, the league is continuing its crackdown on teams who do not report player injuries accurately and in a timely manner. As every NBA bettor knows, having accurate information on who's playing and who's not on a game-to-game basis is of utmost importance.  

The first fine today went to the Los Angeles Clippers. 

The Clippers catch a $25K fine because Brandon Boston and Moussa Diabaté were expected to be out. But they basically changed their mind when Robert Covington was put in health and safety protocols between Saturday afternoon and Saturday night. https://t.co/MMKIPUu3ry

— Law Murray 🎃 (@LawMurrayTheNU) November 3, 2022

The Clippers were slapped with a $25,000 penalty for listing Brandon Boston and Moussa Diabaté out on Sunday, but then having both play that night. The Clippers allege they made the decision after Robert Covington was put in health and safety protocols. 

Another NBA injury reporting discipline: the League has fined the Thunder $25,000 for violation when the team failed to disclose the availability of Josh Giddey in an accurate and timely manner on Nov. 1 vs. Magic.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 3, 2022

Next up were the Oklahoma City Thunder to feel the injury-reporting wrath of the NBA. They, too, were fined $25,000 for failing to disclose the availability of Josh Giddey "in an accurate and timely manner" for their game Tuesday night against the Orlando Magic. 

As noted in usbets.com, "as anyone connected to the gambling industry can tell you, having a solid injury report, fully transparent, is of supreme importance." Earlier this year, an analyst at another online betting site admitted, “(The NBA is) vastly better than it was two or three years ago... If you look back five years ago, you would get the late scratches more frequently. Surprise scratches were happening nightly.”

You 'bettor" believe the NBA has a vested interest in keeping on teams to get their injury reporting up to snuff. 

Photo: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports