- Adam Silver & the NBA fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers in relation to tanking.
- The NBA has partnerships with multiple sports betting companies.
- NBA teams that tank play a role in team total wins from sportsbooks.
NEW YORK – Tanking in the NBA might have as big an impact on the sports betting industry as it does on the league as a whole.
In recent NBA headlines, Adam Silver announced that both the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers have been fined for conduct detrimental to the league.
The Jazz saw a hefty $500k fine for pulling both Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. mid game on February 9 against the Miami Heat. On the other hand, Indiana was fined $100k after a private investigation by the league for sitting Pascal Siakam.
While this has an impact on NBA Draft lottery odds, it also has a major impact on legal sports betting sites and the odds that they set on season team win totals and player props.
Sports Betting Companies Angry Over NBA Teams Tanking?
The NBA has several partnerships with sports betting companies. Most notably, both DraftKings and FanDuel. That said, teams intentionally tanking and pulling players hurts them more than anything, which could be the reason Adam Silver made an example of both Utah and Indiana to try and dissuade teams from following in their footsteps.
On a recent episode of the “Greatest Of All Talk” podcast, Co-Host, Ben Golliver, weighed in on the NBA’s ties with sports betting companies and what he thought their reactions would be.
Adam Silver is reportedly cracking down on late-game tanking due to the NBA’s “heavy ties” to gambling, per @BenGolliver
“We know how much the NBA has gotten in bed with gambling… If coaches are just willy-nilly not playing guys the entire game and they’re not letting people… pic.twitter.com/QEQN7NV96R
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) February 17, 2026
Teams sitting players with the intent of losing to raise their draft lottery odds has a direct impact on NBA betting odds such as season long win totals as well as player props. On the player prop side, especially if a player starts and gets taken out mid-game, similar to what Utah did with both Markkanen and Jackson Jr.
