Anthony Edwards flipped off some fans in Sacramento on Friday night and that will cost him $35,000 in fines, the NBA ruled on Sunday.
The Timberwolves star was caught on camera directing his middle finger at Kings fans with 3:15 left in the first quarter of Minnesota’s 130-126 overtime win. The incident took place after he’d been arguing with officials over a foul call. A frustrated Edwards was returning to the bench when he appeared to hear something from the crowd and reacted with a hand gesture.
And this isn’t the first hefty fine assessed to Edwards this year. The NBA fined him $40,000 for ‘repeatedly publicly criticizing the officiating’ following a 107-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 29.
Edwards, 23, leads Minnesota in scoring, averaging 28.4 points per game.
He scored 36 points on Friday in the win over the short-handed Kings despite a franchise-record 60 points from Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox.
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards flipped off Kings fans in Sacramento on Friday
Edwards, 23, leads Minnesota in scoring, averaging 28.4 points per game
Fox had 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, but it wasn’t enough for a Kings team without DeMar DeRozan (lower back tightness) and Malik Monk (ankle). Julius Randle had the go-ahead basket on a driving layup with under a minute to play to put the Timberwolves ahead by two.
Minnesota made its first four shots in the extra session – including five straight by Edwards after Fox opened the scoring with a 3-pointer.
Randle added 26 points, and Naz Reid had 16 for Minnesota. Domantas Sabonis added 23 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento.
The Timberwolves gave up a 20-point lead in the second half after the Kings began the fourth on a 14-0 run. Fox had 21 points in the first half, but Minnesota led 62-54 after jumping out to a double-digit advantage in the first quarter.
Edwards’ wasn’t the only fine issued by the league on Sunday.
The NBA announced a $100,000 fine for LaMelo Ball after the Hornets star made a homophobic remark following his team’s win over the Bucks on Saturday.
LaMelo Ball made a homophobic remark following his team’s win against the Bucks
Speaking on the court about Charlotte’s defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo during the final possession of the game, Ball said, ‘We loaded up – no homo.’
‘That’s what we wanted, put a hand up and then live with the results.’
The NBA branded Ball’s remarks ‘offensive and derogatory’ in their statement.
The $100,000 amount is the maximum fine allowed by league rules.
Notably, Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas was fined significantly less for saying the same remark in 2023, at $40,000.
Five years earlier, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic also got a $25,000 fine from the league for saying ‘no homo’ at a time when the Serbian-born center was still improving his English.
Per Spotrac, Ball will make $35.147 million in total salary this season.
