NBA issues statement on viral play in Kings loss vs. Warriors

The league issued a statement on Thursday saying “the NBA has completed an investigation of the Sacramento Kings and head coach Doug Christie’s decision to foul intentionally late in the team’s game against the Golden State Warriors on April 7.”

The Warriors won the game in question, 110-105, but it came after the moment in question, where Christie was seen directing his team to foul Seth Curry — a career 86 per cent free-throw shooter — despite leading with a couple of minutes left in the fourth quarter.

According to the NBA, “investigation determined that Christie mistakenly believed that the Warriors were not in the penalty and therefore instructed his team to foul in an attempt to stop the clock and utilize one of the team’s remaining timeouts.”

With the loss, Sacramento (21-59) fell into a tie for the fourth-worst record in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, giving the Kings nearly a 47 per cent shot at landing a top-five pick in the 2026 draft.

“The investigation found that Christie made no intentional effort to give the Warriors a shooting foul, or to cause the Kings to lose the game,” the NBA’s statement concluded.

The moment sparked plenty of debate online in reference to tanking around the NBA and the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the league’s strategies — like the play-in tournament — to combat any alleged antics.

Even Warriors forward Draymond Green was asked about the head-scratching moment, and his response was that he “saw a team tonight foul Seth Curry with three minutes to go in the game for no reason.”

Reporters also asked Green for his thoughts on how to stop tanking and his solution was to “keep fining teams.”

“I get fined when I do wrong, just fine the hell out of people.”