Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has been fined $35K by the NBA for making an obscene gesture during the team’s loss to the Heat in Miami on Tuesday, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
The incident occurred with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s blowout victory. Ball attempted to drive into the lane while being defended by Heat guard Davion Mitchell and was called for a charging foul as he went up for a shot.
After the whistle, the Hornets guard quickly shot a middle finger toward the official who made the foul call (Twitter video link). Ball was hit with a technical foul on top of the charging violation.
The fine is a drop in the bucket for Ball, who is earning a salary of $37,958,760 this season on his maximum-salary contract. Through four games, he’s averaging 26.3 points, 9.5 assists, and 8.3 rebounds per night, along with a 39.5% mark on three-point attempts. All of those figures would be career highs.