How many technical fouls lead to a suspension in the NBA playoffs? And how much are the fines?

Four teams have already booked into the 2025 NBA Conference semifinals, and more are expected to join them in the coming days. As we await the fates of LeBron James’ Lakers, 1-3 down to the Timberwolves in the first round, let’s take a look at one of the more controversial rules which could affect players during the postseason - the technical foul.

But what exactly is a technical foul, and how does it work? How many accumulated technicals earn players a suspension? And are technicals racked up during the regular season carried over to the postseason?

A much-maligned part of the referee’s bag of tricks when it comes to controlling a game, the ‘tech’ can be both infuriating and fair in the dynamic world of the NBA.

What is the technical foul, and how does it work?

In simple form, a technical foul can be called on any player in the game or sitting on the bench for conduct that an official deems detrimental to the game. To be clear, the technical foul must be charged to an individual and can’t be called due to physical contact while the ball is in play.

The NBA rulebook states: “An official may assess a technical foul, without prior warning, at any time. A maximum of two technical fouls for unsportsmanlike acts may be assessed any player, coach, trainer, or other team bench person. Any of these offenders may be ejected for committing only one unsportsmanlike act, and they must be ejected for committing two unsportsmanlike acts”.

Bear in mind that technical fouls exist at every level of basketball. From high school to college and, of course, the NBA, it is part of the game, and in each of those cases, if a player accumulates two techs within a game, he is automatically ejected from it.

However, the NBA differs in one important aspect: the league employs a technical foul tally. Basically, players can accumulate up to a maximum of 16 technical fouls during the regular season, after which they receive an automatic suspension for every two additional technical fouls they pick up. In other words, if you’ve got a player sitting on 16 technical fouls, they will be automatically suspended for one game when they hit 18, and understandably, the same will occur if/when they get to 20. The idea is obviously to curb ill-discipline.

The NBA uses fines to support technical foul

Aside from playing time, which can be cut for players who can’t behave, the league has also taken the stance of hitting them in their pockets. That’s to say that all NBA players are fined for every technical foul they receive. Adding further weight to this scenario is the fact that the fines themselves are tiered, meaning that the amount charged increases as they approach their 16th.

Technical fouls during the playoffs

The rule is slightly different when it comes to the playoffs. Once the regular season has concluded, the technical foul tally is rest back to zero and players who have built up techs over the course of the season will start the playoffs with a clean slate, back at zero.

In the playoffs players are allowed a maximum of seven technical fouls - after the eighth, a one-game suspension is served, then an extra game for every 2 technical fouls collected after that.

When a player is suspended, he is not paid for that specific game, i.e., aside from the sanction he has to pay, he doesn’t get paid himself. If there is any concession, it’s the fact that should a player receive his 16th technical during the final game of the regular season, it won’t be carried into the post season or the following season if his team failed to make the playoffs.

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