Every once in a while, news will break about an NBA team getting caught tampering with a player. What exactly is the NBA's tampering rule?

The NBA says that any organization member, including the coach, a player, executive, or even the owner, cannot speak to a player on rival teams to lure him to join their team. This includes publicly showing interest in acquiring the player or approaching his agent about a possible trade.

The consequences of a team being caught tampering with another player vary from situation to situation. For one, if a player from the team is caught tampering with another player, they can be suspended from games.

If a team official is caught tampering with another player, the official can be fined up to $10 million and the team can have draft picks taken away, and any trades made can be reversed. Yes, it is never a good idea to tamper with another team's player. 

What would be a strange situation is if a team was caught tampering with their own player. Sounds impossible? Well, it would be, if the Milwaukee Bucks had never been caught tampering with their own star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks Tamper With The Greek Freak

Back in 2019, the Milwaukee Bucks did the unthinkable... They were caught tampering with their own player, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak won his first MVP in the 2018-19 season, as he was proving to be the best player in the league.

In the offseason before the 2019-2020 season, the Bucks were fined $50,000 for violating rules “governing the timing of discussions regarding future player contracts and permissible commitments to players,” the league office said.

How did the Bucks find themselves in the predicament of being fined for tampering with their own player?

It occurred when Jon Horst, the general manager of the Bucks, made a public statement about The Greek Freak.

“First of all, the answer for right now is we can’t talk and negotiate anything,” Horst said. “So Giannis, basically, a year from now, will be eligible for a supermax extension. At that time, of course, he will be offered a supermax extension.”

The fact Horst said Giannis would be eligible for a supermax extension is what landed the Bucks in trouble. This may seem a bit strange, but there are rules put in place to prevent this.

According to the statement from the NBA league office, “Under NBA rules, teams cannot commit to offer a ‘supermax’ extension prior to the summer following a player’s seventh season in the NBA.”

So, there you have it. You now know about the time a basketball team was fined for tampering with their own player.

It's worth noting that signing Giannis Antetokounmpo to an extension was the right move, as he led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA championship.

Next time, though, the Bucks may wait until talking about a supermax extension, so they won't get fined $50,000.

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