NBA hammers Anthony Edwards with fine for referee comments

Edwards was fined the largest amount of any player who has been penalized for criticizing officiating this season.

Anthony Edwards knew he'd be fined for criticizing the referees on Monday night and it took the NBA less than 48 hours to slap him with the largest fine a player has received this season for publicly criticizing officials. 

The league issued a statement saying Edwards "repeatedly" criticized the officials from Minnesota's 107-101 win over the Thunder on Monday in Oklahoma City. Here's how his penalty compares to other player fines related to criticism and confrontations with referees this season. 

• Anthony Edwards, $40,000 for public criticism of officiating
• Paul George, $35,000 for public criticism of officiating
• Dillon Brooks, $35,000 public criticism of officiating and inappropriate language towards an official
• Trae Young, $25,000 for inappropriate language to an official

The only fine of more significant came Jan. 16 when Kings coach Mike Brown was fined $50,000 for "aggressively pursuing a game official during live play, and for publicly criticizing the officiating."

TV cameras caught Edwards immediately after the game saying "cheating a** refs" and he followed up by criticizing the refs during postgame interviews. 

"Imma take the fine because the refs did not give us no calls tonight. We had to play through every bump, every grab — I don’t know. I don’t know how we won tonight," Edwards said on the court during a Bally Sports North interview. 

In the locker room after the game Edwards kept criticizing, telling ESPN that the refs were "terrible," that Minnesota "was playing 8-on-5" and that "the cat got their tongue tonight."

It's the second largest fine of Edwards' young career. In August, he was fined $50,000 for "recklessly swinging a chair in frustration that struck two bystanders" as he left the court following Minnesota's season-ending loss to Denver in Game 5 of a playoff series last season. 

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Nov 12, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) speaks to the referee during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center / Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports