💸 Biggest NBA fines for comments ranked: Sterling $2.5M first
Donald Sterling's $2.5M tops the list; Mark Cuban's $600K for tanking talk is next. Doc Rivers' 2019 fine hit the Clippers, not him. 📌
By MrMuscles, sports desk · Desk editor Gustavs Ērkšķis-Kreicbergs · · 4 min read
RANKEDPhoto: Philip Romano · CC BY-SA 4.0By the numbers
- 9y 10mfrom first to latest entry on record
- 8receipts behind this story
A report headlined "Insider Reveals Doc Rivers' Personal Gesture to Giannis Antetokounmpo After Controversial Comments" is today's talking point. The documents read for this piece do not contain that report or what the gesture was, so none of it is stated here. What is on record is the price list: what the NBA has fined people for saying out loud.
What we know
- The NBA fined the Clippers $50,000 on May 31, 2019 for violating its anti-tampering rule over Doc Rivers' comments about Kawhi Leonard on ESPN, according to the league's own release.
- Commissioner Adam Silver said Rivers "crossed a bright line" with those comments, ESPN reported.
- Silver banned Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million on April 29, 2014, the maximum allowed under the NBA constitution, AP reported.
- The NBA fined Mark Cuban $600,000 in February 2018 for what Silver called "public statements detrimental to the NBA"; Cuban told the AP "I earned it."
- ESPN reported in March 2020 that Cuban had accumulated more than $3 million in league fines.
Rivers has a line on that list. On May 31, 2019, the NBA announced a $50,000 fine against the Clippers for violating its anti-tampering rule, over comments Rivers made about Toronto's Kawhi Leonard on an ESPN show. The fine went to the team, not to the coach.
The scoreboard: NBA fines for public comments, by size
| Rank | Who | Fine | Date | What was said | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donald Sterling (Clippers owner) | $2.5 million, plus lifetime ban | Apr 29, 2014 | Remarks on a recording released by TMZ | NBA.com (AP) |
| 2 | Mark Cuban (Mavericks owner) | $600,000 | Feb 2018 | Said on a podcast that losing was "our best option" | ESPN |
| 3 (tie) | Mark Cuban | $500,000 | Jan 2002 | Comments on officiating after a loss to the Spurs | ESPN; Washington Post |
| 3 (tie) | Mark Cuban | $500,000 | Mar 6, 2020 | "Public criticism and detrimental conduct regarding NBA officiating" | ESPN |
| 5 | Mark Cuban | $200,000 | 2006 playoffs | Court run plus blog criticism of playoff referee selection | Washington Post |
| 6 | Mark Cuban | $100,000 | May 2010 | Interview comments about LeBron James before free agency | ESPN |
| 7 (tie) | Clippers, over coach Doc Rivers | $50,000 | May 31, 2019 | Kawhi Leonard comments on ESPN | NBA.com; ESPN |
| 7 (tie) | Lakers, over Magic Johnson | $50,000 | Date not given | Praise of Giannis Antetokounmpo | ESPN |
| 9 | Steve Kerr (Suns executive) | $10,000 | May 2010 | Radio comments about LeBron James | ESPN |
The rulings, in order
Sterling: $2.5 million and a lifetime ban
Silver announced the ban and the fine on April 29, 2014, the maximum allowable under the NBA constitution, AP reported. The trigger was a recording released by TMZ in which Sterling criticized a woman for posting a photo with Magic Johnson. Sterling did not comment that day. The Clippers had said over the weekend the remarks did not reflect his views, but Silver said Sterling acknowledged it was his voice on the tape. The Clippers later sold to Steve Ballmer for $2 billion, CNN reported.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Cuban: $600,000 for tanking talk
Cuban told Julius Erving on the "House Call with Dr. J" podcast on Feb. 18 that he had told his players losing was their best option. Silver said in a statement the fine was for "public statements detrimental to the NBA." Cuban's own verdict was short.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)"I got excited talking to Dr. J and said something I shouldn't have."
Mark Cuban, to the Associated Press, as reported by ESPN, February 2018
Cuban: $500,000 for the Dairy Queen line (2002)
After a 2002 loss, Cuban said he would not hire Ed Rush, then the league's director of officials, "to manage at a Dairy Queen," the Washington Post reported. The league fined him a record $500,000. Cuban told the paper the aim was never to get fined without "a good reason."
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Cuban: $500,000 for public criticism of officiating (2020)
The NBA said Cuban's comments were "highly critical, personal and demeaning to the league and its officiating staff," and denied the Mavericks' protest of their Feb. 22 loss to the Hawks. ESPN noted it was his third fine of at least $500,000 as owner. Cuban said he would match the fine with a donation.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Cuban and Kerr: fined over LeBron talk (2010)
Cuban told CNNMoney.com he hoped LeBron James would force a sign-and-trade; the NBA fined him $100,000 under its anti-tampering rules. ESPN noted he faced a maximum of $5 million. Suns executive Steve Kerr was fined $10,000 for radio comments about James. A Suns spokesperson said the team had no further comment.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Rivers: $50,000, paid by the Clippers (2019)
Rivers said on ESPN that Leonard was "the most like Jordan that we've seen," while Leonard was still under contract to Toronto and headed for free agency. The league did not specify which comments broke the rule. Silver said Rivers "crossed a bright line." ESPN reported the Clippers could have $54 million in cap space that summer. Rivers' response to the fine is not in the reports read.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Rivers has also been on the receiving end of the biggest ruling on the board. The day Silver banned Sterling, the Clippers coach said Silver "made the decision that really was the right one that had to be made." The ruling moved the league's top fine for words to $2.5 million, and ESPN's 2020 tally put Cuban's career fines above $3 million.
Quick quiz · 3 questions
Earlier on file: Doc Rivers apologized to Giannis by text, ESPN's Spears says
The Mark Cuban file
- Ruled
NBA fined Cuban $500,000 for public criticism and detrimental conduct regarding officiating, per ESPN. This story
- Ruled
NBA fined Cuban $600,000 for public statements detrimental to the league after his podcast remarks on tanking, per ESPN. This story
- Admitted
Cuban said on the House Call with Dr. J podcast that he told his team losing was its best option, per ESPN. This story
- Ruled
NBA fined Cuban $100,000 for comments about LeBron James under anti-tampering rules, per ESPN. This story
On file: The Mark Cuban file · The Adam Silver file · The Doc Rivers file
The Ledger
On the record
- The NBA fined the Clippers $50,000 over Rivers' 2019 comments, and fined Sterling $2.5 million and Cuban $600,000 over what each said.
- ESPN reported in March 2020 that Cuban's career fines exceeded $3 million.
Still rumour
- The report about Rivers' personal gesture to Antetokounmpo is not in the documents read, so its details are unconfirmed.
- Rivers' response to the 2019 fine, and the date of the Lakers' $50,000 fine over Johnson's comments, are not in the documents read.
That's the record. The rest is rumour. - MrMuscles
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