Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

NBA announces punishment for Cleveland Cavaliers

Originally posted on Hoops Rumors | By Rory Maher | Last updated Dec 4, 2025 4:35 PM ET

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been fined $250K for violating the NBA’s player-participation policy, the league announced in a press release.

As we outline in a Hoops Rumors glossary entry, the NBA’s player participation policy — instituted in 2023 — is designed to reduce instances of teams resting healthy players during the regular season.

The player-participation policy is focused almost exclusively on players considered “stars” and includes rules prohibiting those stars from sitting out NBA Cup games or nationally televised games without an approved reason (including a legitimate injury).

According to the NBA, the violation occurred when All-Star point guard Darius Garland could have suited up in a nationally televised game on Nov. 24 vs. Toronto, but the Cavaliers instead played him against the Clippers the day prior in a game that was not on national TV.

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/LFyahuXB9s
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 4, 2025

This is Cleveland’s second player-participation violation of the season — the first occurred last month. A team found to have violated the player participation policy is subject to a fine. The amounts of those fines are as follows:

First violation: $100K
Second violation: $250K
Subsequent violations: $1M more than the previous penalty (i.e. $1.25M for the third violation, $2.25M for the fourth violation, and so on)

The Cavaliers finished 2024-25 with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 64-18, but have gotten off to a somewhat sluggish start this season in part due to injuries. The team is 13-10, the No. 7 seed in the East.

This article first appeared on Hoops Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

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