Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has received a $40,000 fine from the NBA for publicly criticizing the officiating repeatedly.
The fine was handed down Wednesday in response to comments Edwards made after the Timberwolves’ 107-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in a Monday matchup between two of the Western Conference’s top teams.
“I’m going to take the fine, because the refs did not give us no calls tonight,” Edwards said in an interview with Bally Sports North on the court after the game. “We had to play through every bump, every grab. I don’t know, I don’t know how we won tonight.”
Edwards continued to criticize the officiating to reporters afterward.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was not necessarily pleased with Edwards' reaction, and wants players to just play through the frustration. Finch told WCCO's Chad Hartman it is something they have preached to players since the start of the year.
"They don't want to be gamed either. If you're complaining all the time, then when you actually are fouled they're a little hesitant to see the play because they've been dealing with it all game," Finch told WCCO. "It's something we talk to our guys about a lot. I thought we started the season pretty good. You know, it's kicked up here recently. Some of it is dropping some wins we should have had and that stuff. It's a lot harder to referee than ever before, with HD television, with replay, with social media blasts, I feel for those guys."
Finch adds that for Edwards, it's a part of the game he still has to adjust to, especially the way he plays the game.
"I feel like he's kind of targeted, but he gets hit a lot," Finch said. "As a ball-dominant, very aggressive guy who attacks the basket at a high level, he's not going to get every whistle. It's no different from when a guy like Shaq played, he probably got fouled on every single play at one point or another. You have to hope they get more right than wrong and to that point, they're humans and you have to play through that sensibility. It's a learning curve for him."
The Timberwolves, still in first place in the Western Conference, host the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center Wednesday night. The Mavs will be without their two superstars, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving as both are nursing injuries.