The NBA has slapped Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards with yet another fine, this time for making an obscene gesture toward an official. Edwards flipped off one during the 127-125 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 7 and will have to fork out $50,000 for the act. He was asked about the incident in his press conference after the 120-106 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday and promised to be better.
“I made a careless, young, dumb mistake, shooting birds,” Edwards said. “I got fans that’s little kids, and I got parents that’s looking at me and then knowing that their kids are fan of me, and they looking at me like what type of, how can I say, role model is he, shooting birds in the middle of a basketball game.
“That has nothing to do with the refs at all,” Edwards added. “That’s all me mentally making a dumb, young mistake, and I won’t make it again.”
In case you missed it, here is Edwards flipping off the official in the third quarter of that game against the Grizzlies.
Ant 💀
(via drew61212 / TT, h/t @overtime) pic.twitter.com/1i3z6ed3ap
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 12, 2025
Edwards had been given a technical foul by the official while sitting on the bench and wasn’t too pleased about that. It was his NBA-leading ninth technical of the season and the two-time All-Star hilariously stated in this press conference that he won’t get another.
While Edwards might not flip off an official again this season, he almost certainly will get another tech. What is also, unfortunately, quite likely, is that he will be fined by the NBA again at some point. This was the fifth time that the 23-year-old had been fined this season and the total amount stands at $285,000.
Edwards was first slapped with a $35,000 fine for making an obscene gesture on the court during the game against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 15. He was then handed a $25,000 fine for using profane language during an interview after the game against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 6.
Edwards then committed the cardinal sin of publicly blasting the officials after the game against the Warriors on Dec. 21. He was given a $75,000 fine for his comments and while that was a huge amount, the biggest was yet to come.
The NBA slapped Edwards with a massive $100,000 fine for using profane language during a live television interview after the game against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 27. The reason for it being this big was his history of using such language. You’d hope he will be a bit more careful moving forward.
As for the game against the Wizards at Capital One Arena, Edwards dazzled in it. He finished the night with 41 points (14-25 FG), six rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and a block to help the Timberwolves improve to 21-18 on the season.
It has been a disappointing start to this campaign for Edwards and the Timberwolves but they have now won four of their last five games. Time will tell if this is just yet another false dawn or if they have actually turned the corner.
The Timberwolves will be in action next against the Warriors at Target Center on Wednesday at 9:30 PM ET. Edwards has landed in trouble with the league twice after games against them and here’s hoping it doesn’t happen again.
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