Anthony Edwards let a fan in Sacramento know how he felt with an obscene gesture on Friday. That middle finger cost the Minnesota Timberwolves star $35,000. The NBA announced the fine on Sunday.
As the NBA memo explained, Edwards gestured to a fan during the first quarter of the Timberwolves’ 130-126 win over the Kings on Friday.
Photographers captured the action in question very clearly. The image will likely pop up often in disagreements on social media.
No word on what may have caused this reaction from Edwards, but comments from Minnesota assistant coach Corliss Williamson apparently motivated him to start the game aggressively.
“Corliss, my coach, told me I played 11, 12 games ‘soft,’” Edwards told reporters. “So I told him yesterday that I was going to dunk on one of their asses. So when I did, I looked right at him.”
The recipient of Edwards’ tackle was Domantas Sabonis, who was dunked during the third quarter.
“That felt good,” Edwards said after watching a clip of the dunk.
Edwards finished with 36 points, shooting 6-of-14 from 3-point range. He leads the NBA in 3-pointers made with 64.
However, that performance was overshadowed by De’Aaron Fox exploding for 60 points, a Kings franchise record. Sacramento needed Fox to carry out the team with Malik Monk and DeMar DeRozan out with injuries.
Edwards scored Minnesota’s final six points in regulation to force overtime and added seven more in overtime to lead the Timberwolves to victory and a 1–1 record in the West Group A standings for the NBA Cup Season Tournament. Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 7-6 overall.
This isn’t the first major fine Edwards has been imposed by the NBA. Last season, he was paid $40,000 for criticizing officials, saying the Timberwolves were “playing 8-on-5” in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.