76ers fine is about player participation — and gambling

The NBA fined the Sixers $100K for public statements regarding the health of center Joel Embiid, who hasn’t yet played a game in the 2024-25 season. While they didn’t rule that Embiid missed games without an excuse, namely in the nationally televised season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, the league reportedly took issue with comments from team officials.

Team president Daryl Morey and head coach Nick Nurse have both praised Embiid’s conditioning and weight loss, with Nurse insisting that Embiid has had “no setback” with injuries to his knee. But that contrasts with Embiid sitting out, with no date yet for his return to the court.

In the 76ers’ previous Embiid-related fines, the team was punished for being deceptive on injury reports. Embiid sat for a game in Denver after being listed as “available,” which resulted in a $75K fine. Then the Sixers got a $100K fine when Embiid started against Oklahoma City after he was initially listed as “out.”

One could argue that those fines were due to gaming the injury reporting system to gain a competitive advantage, as opposing teams couldn’t properly prepare. But this season, the 76ers have never pretended Embiid was about to take the court. The only people victimized by the deceptive reporting of Embiid’s health are people betting on the games.

The player-participation policy requiring stars to play in nationally televised games helps protect the NBA’s TV partners, who understandably want the best players to be on the court for prime-time games. Incorrect information about Embiid’s health really just affects long-term bets, like over/under win totals.

But the NBA has gambling partners as well, as do those TV partners. ESPN even has its own sports book. The 76ers aren’t affecting the integrity of basketball games; they’re just hurting the integrity of bets.

It’s likely that the 76ers won’t care about the fine. The Sixers gave George and Tyrese Maxey contracts worth more than $200M each. Embiid signed an extension worth $193M. The 76ers also announced plans for a new $1.3 billion arena. All that is to say that a $100K fine is a drop in the bucket for the Sixers’ finances.

Embiid didn’t get away unscathed. Even though he hasn’t suited up yet, the NBA gave him a postgame technical foul for waving a towel from the bench against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

The fines are piling up for the 76ers. They’ll take it as long as losses aren’t piling up as well.