Last season, the San Antonio Spurs had to fork over a quarter of a million bucks after giving their three superstars the night off just prior to a nationally-televised game. On Thursday night, head coach Gregg Popovich did the same thing (and Tony Parker was already out with an injury), but the League isn’t upset this time. The Spurs managed to eke out a road win sans their star players. Per the Express-News:
Though the Spurs have chosen to rest 37-year-old team captain Tim Duncan and 36-year-old two-time All-Star guard Manu Ginobili for Thursday’s game against the Warriors, the team is in no danger of being fined by the league.
Last season when the Spurs’ big three, plus starting guard Danny Green, were held out of a nationally televised game against the Heat in Miami, NBA Commissioner David Stern fined the team $250,000, but a league spokesperson said the club will not be penalized this season.
The Spurs informed the league early Thursday that coach Gregg Popovich was considering resting both Duncan and Ginobili.
When the decision was finalized the team informed NBA vice-president for basketball operations Rod Thorn and issued a statement that both players would sit out the nationally televised game. Because they followed league protocols there was no danger of being fined again.
