Getty Images
The NBA announced that Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell was given a $15,000 fine following his actions at the conclusion of the Lakers’ 145-144 double overtime win against the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 27. Russell was seen kicking the ball into the stands as the final buzzer sounded of L.A’s road win at Chase Center, a violation of league rules.
As Stephen Curry tried to get off one last shot to try and win the game for the Warriors with a 3/4 court heave, the buzzer sounded as the ball was soaring midair. Russell walked onto the court with the game being over and kicked the ball, causing it to go a couple rows back into the stands.
Here’s the video of Russell kicking the ball:
Russell put up 28 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block in the Lakers’ win, which was just the latest performance in what’s been an impressive streak for the guard. In Russell’s last six games he’s been averaging 27.8 points on 52% shooting from the field and 57.4% from deep, an encouraging sign as the Lakers try to climb up the standings in the West. He’s played so well that L.A. may be cooling off on the idea of trading him, a move the team has been long rumored in trying to do, specifically to land Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. We’ll see if Russell is still in purple and gold past the trade deadline, but he’s certainly played at the level that warrants keeping him, or at the very least raised his trade value.
As far as the kicked ball goes, the fine is likely one Russell saw coming. We’ve seen players in the past get fined for similar instances, with Kyrie Irving getting fined $25,000 in 2018 for throwing the ball into the stands. That one was a heftier number likely because Irving threw the ball out of frustration following a Celtics loss to the Nuggets. Whatever the reasoning behind Russell’s decision to kick the ball following the Lakers’ win, the league clearly didn’t view it in a bad enough light to give him a bigger fine on the level of Irving’s.