NBA
NBA Fines Cavaliers $100K For Sitting Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley Against Heat
James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.
All posts by James FoglioUpdated14 minutes ago on November 19, 2025
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been fined $100,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s player participation policy by sitting both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley in a Nov. 12 road game against the Miami Heat.
Two Or More Star Players Cannot Be Unavailable For Same Game
The NBA adopted a new player participation policy ahead of the 2023-24 season to reduce instances of teams holding out star players during the regular season.
Under the policy, the NBA defines a star as a player who has made an All-Star or All-NBA team within the past three seasons. Both Mitchell and Mobley meet that criteria.
Per the NBA’s player participation policy, no more than one star player can be unavailable for the same game. The league allows pre-approved designated back-to-back allowances for players who are 35 years old on opening night.
The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/m0rZeD5SlW
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) November 18, 2025
Players with career workloads of 34,000 regular-season minutes or 1,000 regular-season and playoff games combined are also exceptions. Those such veteran stars are given pre-approved designated back-to-back allowances.
However, the NBA listed several other exceptions that will be granted. Those include multigame absences for bona fide injury, personal reasons, and rare and unusual circumstances.
Roster management of unavailable star players and end-of-season flexibility are other acceptable reasons.
Cavaliers Sat Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley For Rest
An organization violating the player participation policy for the first time is fined $100,000. A second violation for a club would result in a $250,000 fine, then $1.25 million for a third violation.
A team will be fined $1 million more than its previous penalty for any violations beyond the third.
The league fined the Cavs for sitting both players for “rest” as listed on the injury report. Cleveland was also in the midst of a stretch of six games in eight days.
Mitchell and Mobley each played two days prior during an overtime loss to Miami on Nov. 10 and were both in the lineup on Nov. 13, when the Cavs played on the second night of a back-to-back in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers continue their six-game homestand on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets.
