Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards fined $40K for criticizing officials
Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dunks the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans in the fourth quarter at Target Center on November 08, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Pelicans 122-101. ((Photo by David Berding/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $40,000 by the NBA for comments criticizing the officiating in Monday night’s 107-101 win at Oklahoma City.
It’s a fine he’ll gladly pay. It’s also the largest fine a player has received this season for publicly criticizing the officials.
Edwards finished with 27 points and was irate with the officials after a dunk with 1:57 to play. He thought he was fouled by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he attacked the rim. Replays clearly show Gilgeous-Alexander grabbing his left arm.
He made some headlines for his postgame comments.
"Cheating a** refs," Edwards shouted as he celebrated with Gobert postgame. "I don’t know, I don’t know and I’m going to take the fine because the refs did not give us no calls tonight. We had to play through every bump, every grab, I don’t know. I don’t know how we won tonight, big shout-out to my team."
In the big picture, the Timberwolves shot 13-of-15 from the free-throw line in the win. Gilgeous-Alexander by himself was 15-of-16 for the Thunder.
The NBA released its last two-minute reports from Monday’s games on Tuesday afternoon. The league ruled it was correct that there was no foul on Gilgeous-Alexander, calling the contact marginal.
What really matters is that the Timberwolves remain atop the Western Conference at 33-14. But the top four teams – Minnesota, Denver, Oklahoma City and the L.A. Clippers – are separated by just two games.