Cavaliers fined $100,000 for sitting All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley – The Athletic

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Cavaliers fined $100,000 for sitting All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley - The Athletic

The Cleveland Cavaliers won 130-116 over the Miami Heat on Nov. 12 despite sitting All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. Nick Cammett / Getty Images

The NBA fined the Cleveland Cavaliers $100,000 on Tuesday for sitting Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley against the Miami Heat on Nov. 12. The league determined that the Cavaliers violated the league’s Player Participation Policy by resting their two All-Stars.

The policy, which was adopted prior to the 2023-24 season to prevent load management, states that teams must “ensure that no more than one star player is unavailable for the same game.” A star is any player who was selected to an All-NBA Team or an All-Star in any of the prior three seasons, according to the policy. The policy includes exceptions for injuries, personal reasons and pre-approved back-to-back restrictions based on a player’s age, career workload or serious injury history.

Cleveland’s game against the Heat was the first of a back-to-back and one of three games in four nights. Even without Mitchell, Mobley, Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot), the Cavaliers came back from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Miami 130-116.

The Brooklyn Nets were the first team to be fined by the NBA under the player participation policy in January 2024, when the league fined the organization $100,000 after the team sat several players for a late December loss against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Cavaliers are 10-5, second in the Eastern Conference and 7-3 in their last 10 games. Mitchell is fifth in the league in scoring at 30.9 points per game, which would be a career high for the ninth-year guard. He’s also shooting a career-best 50.9 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. The star guard posted 37 points on 14-of-22 shooting against the Bucks on Monday. Mobley is also having a strong season, averaging 18.9 points while attempting a career-high 4.7 3-pointers per game.

Mitchell was named to the All-NBA First Team last year, marking his second career All-NBA honor. Mobley earned Second Team honors for the first time in his career last season. Cleveland finished as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25 before falling in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Indiana Pacers.

Nov 20, 2025