Recently, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made headlines by firing back at the NBA for fining the franchise, which stemmed from the team allegedly sitting healthy players to tank. Carlisle claimed that the league had insisted that an injured Aaron Nesmith play, going so far as to suggest medicating him, despite his ankle injury.
Now, the NBA has hit back at Carlisle's harsh words with their own account of the events.
“Coach Carlisle's description of the process that went into the decision to fine the Indiana Pacers is inaccurate. An independent physician led the medical review,” said a league spokespersonto Sam Amick. “… The Pacers confirmed that it had provided all of the information requested by the league, and the team reported that an interview with Coach Carlisle or a team physician wasn't necessary.”
Clearly, Carlisle and the league front office are not on the same page as to what went down regarding Nesmith.
The NBA has been trying to crack down on tanking in recent weeks, also fining the Utah Jazz a hefty amount for sitting healthy players as teams try to secure the best draft picks that they can.
The 2026 NBA Draft class is widely considered one of the better in recent memory, and the process of teaming up a blue-chip prospect with a healthy Tyrese Haliburton next year is certainly an enticing one for the Pacers.
However, all things considered, it seems that there are more questionable tanking practices going on around the league than what's happening in Indiana.
