Recently, NBA coaches and players have been upset with referees for making bad decisions that cost their teams wins. Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards has taken this to a whole other level.
Following the Timberwolves’ victory against their Western Conference competitor, the OKC Thunder, Edwards showed massive audacity and blasted the game officials for their ignorant officiating during the game.
Anthony Edwards rips into “cheating a** referees”
The Minnesota Timberwolves earned a well-fought victory against their close competitors, the OKC Thunder, 107-101. In a game that went back and forth, the young superstar, Anthony Edwards ruthlessly attacked the Thunder and controlled the game from start to finish.
Edwards scored a very respectable 27 points, 10 short of the game-high 37 points by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, it was a humongous task for the Wolves to make any significant moves considering the lack of foul calls that were coming their way.
To put it into perspective, SGA alone had a total of 16 free throws while Edwards just had the opportunity to go to the free-throw line a measly four times, which he converted without any hesitation. While the Wolves struggled to assert their dominance, they somehow hustled to find their way on top, eventually pushing down their competition who were led by the dynamic duo of SGA and Jalen Williams.
Anthony Edwards made sure that he got his opportunity for vengeance against the Thunder who they lost to, earlier this month, following multiple turnovers and clutch free-throw misses from the young Edwards.
Known for his vicious jams, the youngster did not fail to entertain the fans and spectators with his dunks and impeccable shooting. While he entertained the crowd, the young star did not mince words in his post-game interview. Edwards was utterly disappointed with the level of officiating in the game and emphasized his frustrations on multiple occasions.
While relinquishing the victory, Edwards slyly took jibes at the officials in his interview saying, “The refs did not give us no calls tonight. We had to play through every bump, every grab, I don’t know how we won tonight. Big shoutout to my teammates and my coaches.”
In another instance, Anthony Edwards blasted the game officials by exclaiming to his teammates, “Cheating a– refs.” While it was courageous of Edwards to express his opinions so candidly, it is unknown what the repercussions of his statements will be.
Ant-man potentially incurred hefty fine from NBA
In the NBA, fines and penalties are common for coaches and players who make vocal statements or take actions that disrupt the sportsmanship and harmony of basketball. As Minnesota Timberwolves young superstar Anthony Edwards blasted the referees for their abysmal officiating, there is a potentially very hefty fine heading in his way.
If he does receive a fine, he will not be suffering alone as several others have received repercussions for their vocality against the NBA referees and game officials.
Recently, Sacramento Kings HC Mike Brown was handed a 50,000 USD fine for expressing anger and frustration in the Kings’ disappointing loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The statement released by the league said that Brown had been penalized for ‘aggressively pursuing a game official during live play and publicly criticizing the officiating’.
In another isolated incident, Raptors HC Darko Rajakovic received a fine of 25,000 USD for once again, publicly criticizing the officiating in their game against the Lakers which saw a tremendous number of free throws being given to the Raptors’ opposition.
With such a history of penalizing individuals who criticize coaches in the public sphere, it is quite certain that Wolves youngster Anthony Edwards can expect a massive fine coming his way for candid statements regarding the referees.
