The NBA fined the Orlando Magic $25,000 on Thursday for violating its injury reporting policies after the league said the team failed to accurately disclose Anthony Black’s game availability status. Black, who had been listed as out before Monday’s game, ended up playing and helped Orlando beat the Detroit Pistons 123-107.
Black finished with 14 points and two steals in the win, a sharp turn for a third-year guard from Arkansas who had missed 15 games with an abdominal strain. The Magic also beat the Los Angeles Lakers 110-109 and then the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday to run their winning streak to four straight, leaving the fine as a reminder that the league is still policing one of its most closely watched reporting rules.
The violation centered on a mismatch between the team’s injury designation and Black’s actual availability. That matters because the nba injury report is supposed to tell opponents, bettors and fans whether a player is in or out before tipoff, and the league has shown it is willing to punish teams when that information is not handled accurately.
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For Orlando, the timing was awkward but the basketball was better. Black had been averaging 15.1 points and 3.8 assists in 62 games, including 40 starts, and his return added another live piece to a team already building momentum. The question now is less about the result in Detroit than whether the Magic tighten their reporting before the league does it for them again.
