The Golden State Warriors secured a narrow victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, but it might have been just as the Kings planned.
That’s why, in a recent segment on NBA Today, league insider Shams Charania announced a new investigation into the franchise for one particular moment: a late-game foul on Warriors guard Seth Curry. According to Shams, the NBA isn’t entirely convinced it was an accident, despite the Kings claiming that it was just an honest mistake.
“I’m told the NBA is investigating this situation, this foul that took place with over three minutes left in the game on Seth Curry,” said Charania. “But Kings sources tell me that Doug Christie made a mistake, a strategic error. He thought he had a foul to give with over three minutes left to get a free timeout. He felt like he had a foul to give. He did not have a foul to give. So, the Kings’ side is saying that this was a mistake, and this is the argument that’s going on around the league right now: tanking vs. rebuilding.”
The Kings were up 101-100 with 3:15 remaining in the game when head coach Doug Christie commanded Doug McDermott to intentionally foul Seth Curry. Christie thought they still had a foul to give and was looking to stop the clock and secure a free timeout before the three-minute mark, when certain timeout rules change.
What the coach didn’t realize is that his team had no timeouts. What’s worse, with his team in the penalty, the foul sent Curry to the line, where he knocked down both free throws that sparked a 10-4 run to close the game. In one fell swoop, that single error swung the game in favor of the Warriors, giving the Kings their second straight loss. At 21-59, they are now tied with the Utah Jazz for the worst record in the NBA.
The Kings continue to deny that they were trying to throw the game, but the recent rise of tanking across the league has cast doubt on their claims. Earlier this season, teams were getting increasingly bold with their attempts to secure a high draft pick, with some even resting entire lineups for the sake of adding losses. At one point, the NBA even fined two teams for their blatant tanking violations.
With NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hinting at immediate preventative action, it’s no surprise that he’s investigating the Kings. Even with as bad as they’ve been, it looks way too suspicious to make such an egregious error in a winnable game. Intentional or not, this stuff is a bad look for the NBA and really makes people question the quality of the product they are watching.
Ultimately, only time will tell what the NBA concludes in this case, but they are making it clear where they stand on the tanking subject. They will not tolerate this kind of behavior any longer, and that means rebuilding teams across the league will have to be much more discreet in their efforts to maximize draft position.
