After kicking the ball into the crowd during the final buzzer of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 145-144 double-overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at Chase Center, point guard D’Angelo Russell was fined $15,000. It is alleged that this behavior violates NBA league rules.
NBA News: D’Angelo Russell Has a $15,000 Fine for Ball-Kicking
Is There Any Connection to Russell’s Performance?
The incident occurred when Stephen Curry, a legend of the Golden State Warriors, attempted a last-second shot to win the game from three quarters down the court. As soon as the buzzer went off, Russell kicked the ball while it was still in midair into the stands.
It was meant to be Russell and the Lakers’ victory party. He countered the Warriors with a performance that many found reminiscent of yet another unquestionably dominant game. He scored 28 points on 8 of 19 shots while playing a strong 49 minutes. And he was far from done. In addition to dishing out five assists, he had two steals and three rebounds. This included a game-winning three-pointer for Los Angeles with fifty seconds remaining in double overtime.
Is a $15,000 Fine Considered Inequitable?
Officials from NBA Communications and Joe Dumars, executive vice president and head of basketball operations, made the announcement on Monday. While there are differing opinions regarding this incident—some calling it “bogus”—it is not an uncommon occurrence.
In 2018, Kyrie Irving was fined $25,000 for the same offense, which was a similar experience. Irving received a harsher punishment because he deliberately did it after the Boston Celtics lost.
Russell isn’t expected to be too concerned about $15,000 because he is reportedly making close to $18 million this season. As of right now, no formal statement has been released explaining the reasoning behind Russell’s ball-kicking behavior.
