On Sunday, the league imposed a hefty fine of $100,000 on Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert for criticizing the officiating. In the final minutes of Friday’s game against the Cavaliers, the T-Wolves were leading 97-96 when Gobert was trying to fend off two defenders to secure a rebound. Even though the play wasn’t excessively violent or out of the ordinary, a whistle went off. And with 27.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Rudy Gobert was called for his sixth technical foul for pushing off Jarret Allen, resulting in a foul-out. Frustrated by the decision, Gobert made the cash gesture towards referee Scott Foster, implying that the call was influenced by gambling.

The technical then sent Cavaliers guard Darius Garland to the free-throw line, who ended up sinking the free throw to send the game to overtime. The Cavs eventually won the game by a scoreline of 113-104. After the game, Gobert told the reporters, “My reaction, which I think is truth — it’s what I truly believe — even if it’s the truth, it wasn’t the time for me to react that way. I should have not done that. I cost my team the game, and obviously, they couldn’t wait to give me a tech. That was bad. That was an immature reaction.”

However, this was not the first time Gobert had called out the officials. The 31-year-old was fined $25,000 a year ago, $25,000 in 2022, and $15,000 in 2018 for his criticism of referees. Therefore, as the league said in the statement, the $100,000 fine “takes into account Gobert’s past instances of conduct detrimental to the NBA with regard to publicly criticizing the officiating.” However, he is not the only one on the team ripping the refs.

Anthony Edwards receives $40k fine for criticizing the officials

On January 29, Anthony Edwards was in hot waters with the league for calling the officials “cheating-a** refs” after the team’s 107-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He doubled down on this stance during his on-court post-game interview on the Timberwolves’ TV broadcast.“I’m going to take the fine, because the refs did not give us no calls tonight,” said Edwards. Consequently, Edwards was penalized for his actions and handed a $40,000 fine “for repeatedly publicly criticizing the officiating.” 

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Ant-Man’s comments came on the heels of Minnesota being whistled for 19 fouls, while the Thunder had 17. Moreover, OKC attempted 22 free throws, including 16 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whereas the T-Wolves were given only 15 attempts from the foul line. Do you think Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards’ claims are legit? Let us know in the comments!

“Immature” Rudy Gobert Confesses to Major Blunder That Cost Timberwolves West’s No.1 Throne