NBA Fines Thunder $25K For Violation Of Injury Reporting Protocol

The Oklahoma City Thunder were fined by the NBA after failing to report Josh Giddey's injury status in a timely manner earlier this week.

OKC will have to pay the league $25,000 for the violation.

Giddey sprained his right ankle during the Thunder's Oct. 23 game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. The injury caused him to miss more than a week of game action as he worked to get himself healthy again.

According to Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, Giddey practiced on Monday -- one day before OKC's home tilt versus the Orlando Magic. However, Daigneault said his status for the Magic game would be determined on Tuesday.

Daigneault upgraded Giddey's playing status to questionable around two and a half hours prior to Tuesday's 7 p.m. tipoff. Around 5:15 p.m., Daigneault announced that Giddey would be available to play.

All of this seems like a lot of changes in a short amount of time -- and it is -- but this appears to amount to a bookkeeping mistake. There's a punishment, but it isn't a big one. The team will pay its fine to the league and both entities will move on.

Coincidentally, the Los Angeles Clippers were hit with a $25,000 injury reporting fine of their own. The Clippers' error, according to insider Shams Charania, is for playing players despite them being listed as unavailable in a game on Oct. 30.