(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
The season may be over for D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers but that doesn’t mean he is free from fines from the league.
In fact, on Saturday morning, the NBA announced that Russell had been fined $25,000 for verbally abusing a game official.
The incident occurred after the Lakers’ season-ending Game 5 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday evening.
The following has been released by the NBA: pic.twitter.com/5SSnzS7AEF
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 4, 2024
The series between Los Angeles and Denver was testy for several reasons and there were multiple complaints from Lakers players about the refs and potential missed calls.
Russell himself publicly commented on the officiating after Game 2, hopping on Twitter to complain about a missed call featuring Michael Porter Jr. and himself.
It’s not entirely clear what he said to the refs after Game 5 but it was obviously enough to earn him the hefty fine.
The fine comes after Russell may have played his last game with the purple and gold.
He has a player option that he could take this summer, or he could decide to see how the free-agent market treats him.
Recent reports have said he is leaning toward testing the waters on the market and potentially signing with another team.
This season had many great moments for Russell but it ended in disappointment with his mixed output during the playoffs, leading to an elimination on Monday night.
Russell has been back with the Lakers since the middle of last season and has had plenty of good and bad moments with the team.
He might be saying goodbye to the Lakers but before he does, he will need to pay this fine.
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