Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook has been fined $35K for “making an obscene gesture on the playing court” during the fourth quarter of Monday’s loss to New York, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
Westbrook finished with a team-high 27 points in Monday’s lopsided defeat, with 24 coming during a fourth-quarter flurry when the game was out of reach. After hitting a three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter, he flipped a middle finger toward the Knicks’ bench (Twitter video link).
The 2016/17 league MVP is no stranger to fines, having been docked more than $500K over the years, according to Spotrac, largely due to technical fouls. The 36-year-old picked up his second technical of the season in Wednesday’s victory at Utah.
Westbrook, who is in his 17th NBA season, is averaging 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals through his first 17 games as a Nugget (24.6 minutes per contest). His shooting slash line is .391/.375/.681.
Westbrook signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with Denver in late July after being released by Utah. He holds a player option for ’25/26.