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NBA Team May Be Forced To Forfeit Games - Here's Why

Originally posted on The Spun | By Daniel Bates | Last updated Mar 15, 2025 9:23 PM ET

As if Dallas Mavericks fans could stomach any more bad news this season, the team's injury woes have officially reached a point where they could result in the forfeiture of games.

After Dante Exum suffered a broken hand the will rule him out indefinitely — adding to a rash of injuries that includes Kyrie Irving (knee), Anthony Davis (adductor), Dereck Lively II (ankle), Daniel Gafford (knee), Jaden Hardy (ankle) and Caleb Martin (hip) — ESPN's Bobby Marks shared the potential impact the Mavs' missing players could have on the organization's potential to field a roster down the stretch.

Dallas' two-way players are coming up on their 50-game threshold and nine days from now the team could reportedly find itself in a serious bind.

"If we get to March 24 which is the Brooklyn game or maybe if there's more injuries that are coming, the Mavericks could be at a point where they'd have to forfeit a game," Marks explained. "I'm not ready to go there yet because we've never seen that happen before."

The Mavericks are also hampered by cap-related issues under the NBA's new CBA, but there's a way they could potentially finesse their way out of the situation they're currently in.

According to Marks, the franchise could get around a forfeit by having injured players dress for a game but not play. Although that would require some lying on their part to get some of their guys off the injury report.

Dallas' season has gone into a tailspin since dealing Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers — and at this point it's hard to get excited about anything Nico Harrison and the franchise's ownership have their hands in moving forward.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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