“I definitely gotta shoot more. I only took 13 f—— shots,” said Anthony Edwards after the Timberwolves’ Game 1 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s it. That’s all that Anthony Edwards needed to say to incur a $50,000 fine for using “profane language” during a media interview! Just one f word, and the player had to pay more than what many people earn in a year. Though the fine was just one amongst the many that the player accumulated throughout the ongoing tournament, it seems to have been the final nail in the coffin. Therefore, the 23-year-old seems to have taken ‘Prevention is Better than Cure’ too seriously. Either that, or he simply is not happy with how the league has been treating his F-bombs.

The Athletic’s Senior Writer, Jon Krawczynski, recently reported, “Anthony Edwards declined to speak to the media tonight….”. The reason could have been presumed as anything, had the reporter not added that the player declined to speak “….after being fined $50K for a rather innocuous F-bomb the other night”. ‘Innocuous’ is certainly one way to describe what happened. After all, the player was simply venting his frustration over a 26-point margin loss (88-114), and did not mean any harm. However, given Edwards’ history, the league probably wanted to limit negative actions by imposing fines on the smallest of infractions.

Unfortunately, if Edwards was making a point by skipping the presser, he added more financial trouble to his head. After all, if the past is an indication, then NBA players can be fined up to $25,000 for violating the league’s rules regarding media interview access. The same has continued on for a long time in the NBA. LeBron James himself was fined $25,000, all the way back in 2009, for skipping the post-game news conference after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals. Devin Booker, who is known for his ‘bad-boy’ persona and ‘villain’ personality, was also fined $25,000 during the Houston Rockets’ first-round series against the Lakers.

Players, however, are not directly handed out the fines. This was seen in the case of Devin Booker, who wasn’t fined for skipping out on post-game media availability after the Phoenix Suns lost Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals to Denver back in 2023. An NBA official reportedly told The Republic that a warning is first given when players don’t participate in post-game media availability. If they don’t do the post-game media availability again, a fine is then handed down to them.

In the case of the Minnesota Timberwolves star, he is giving fines for what he says in the post-game pressers, and not for skipping them. In fact, according to reports, Anthony Edwards has not purposely missed any presser or post-game media availability. Therefore, this time, the 23-year-old might just be let go with a warning. Then again, you never know what will happen until the league makes a final decision.

It will be a good thing if Ant can avoid another monetary fine altogether. After all, the player has already spent more on fines this season than most people ever get to earn in their entire lifetimes.

How and when did Anthony Edwards accumulate fines that now total $664,000?

As of now, Anthony Edwards has accumulated $664,000 in fines, and note this, in just THIS SEASON! The same is a culmination of the fines, technicals, and a 1-game suspension that the player has recorded since the tournament began.

Edwards’ troubles began back in mid-November. The NBA fined the young star $35,000 for sticking out the middle finger toward a Kings fan. A month after that, the league fined Edwards $25,000 “for using profane language during a media interview”.

After losing to the Warriors, only a few days later, Edwards famously criticized the referees. He stated, “They’re f—— terrible”, and “That s— was terrible”. He received a $75,000 fine “for public criticism of officiating and using inappropriate and profane language” with the media during the post-game period.

Hold on to your seats, because that wasn’t all for December! Edwards’ usage of back-to-back curse words, at one point, got him his biggest fine of the season: $100,000!

As The Athletic reporter James Jackson highlighted, Edwards is known for his candor and has grown more vocal with his thoughts this season. The league, in the meantime, has remained in lockstep with the player. When the amount was still low, Edwards would not have minded paying it. After all, the 3x NBA All-Star is currently playing under a 5-year, $244.623 million contract.

Therefore, even now, the fines would only make a small dent in his earnings. The player still has his whole NBA career in front of him, 14-17 years at best, and can always earn more. Therefore, if he wants to take a stand, then he can. Then again, why put yourself in more financial trouble by going against the rules that everyone in the NBA has to follow?

It remains to be seen just how the league treats Anthony Edwards’ absence from the recent presser.