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D'Angelo Russell (Source: X)
The NBA fined Los Angeles Lakers player D'Angelo Russell $25,000 for verbally abusing a game official immediately after his team was ousted from the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets earlier this week.
Joe Dumars, the league's executive vice president and director of basketball operations, announced the fine on Saturday. The Lakers' season came to an end Monday with a 108-106 loss to Denver Nuggets, who won the series 4-1. Darvin Ham, Los Angeles' coach, was sacked on Friday after two seasons.
On April 29th, the incident occurred on the floor during the series' fifth game in Denver. Jamal Murray made a tough fadeaway jumper with 3.6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Nuggets a two-point lead. With no timeouts left, the Lakers sprinted for a shot, but the Nuggets' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stopped Taurean Prince's half-court attempt. Some Lakers players challenged the call and sought a foul.
Russell ended with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 6 assists, and 1 rebound in the Nuggets' 108-106 defeat. Throughout the five games of the Western Conference first-round series, he averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 assists, and 2.8 boards. In 76 games (69 starts) during the regular season, Russell, 28, averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists while setting a franchise record with 226 3-pointers.
Los Angeles Lakers players were dissatisfied with the referee
Russell's $25,000 fine is insignificant in comparison to his $17.3MM salary this season and $18.7MM player option for 2024/25. There is speculation that he may reject that player option in favor of a more lucrative multiyear contract.
The Lakers players were dissatisfied with the refereeing throughout the series. LeBron James expressed his dissatisfaction with the replay center after a foul called against Michael Porter Jr. for seeming to have hit Russell in the face during a drive to the basket was overturned in Game 2.
Los Angeles Lakers had a strong series against the Nuggets, but the current NBA champions did just enough to prevail in five games. Denver won four games by a total of 22 points. This is not Russell's first NBA fine this season. Back in January, he was fined $15,000 for kicking the ball into the stands.