Silver on not suspending Harden: 'It's Christmas. It was a 1st offense'

James Harden may have avoided a suspension in part because Adam Silver was in the holiday spirit.

When asked why he didn't penalize the Houston Rockets superstar for violating the league's health and safety protocols with a ban rather than a $50,000 fine, the NBA commissioner elaborated on his recent ruling.

"The precedent is that discipline gets ratcheted up. It's Christmas. It was a first offense," Silver said Thursday on ESPN's "The Jump."

"Frankly, to your point, the $50,000 is the limit of my authority under the collective bargaining agreement," Silver continued, "and what would have happened - in a way, he got lucky, because if the game had taken place last night as scheduled and he were unavailable because of his own actions, he would have missed a game and a paycheck."

The 2018 MVP was fined following the league's investigation into a video clip that showed him attending an indoor social gathering at a club event without wearing a mask. Attending bars, clubs, and live entertainment venues is forbidden under the league's current protocols, which aim to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He also attended an event at an Atlanta club in early December while holding out at the start of training camp.

Harden was ruled ineligible to play in Wednesday's scheduled season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which was ultimately postponed because Houston wasn't able to dress the league minimum of eight players. The eight-time All-Star is apparently expected to make his season debut in Saturday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers so long as he completes his mandatory four-day quarantine which began on Tuesday.

The three-time NBA scoring champion reportedly requested a trade out of Houston prior to the start of training camp.