December 25, 2018; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) shoots the basketball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (3) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala has been fined $25,000 for “recklessly” throwing a basketball into the stands, the NBA announced Monday.
The incident occurred after time had expired in the second quarter of the Warriors’ 115-105 victory at Portland on Saturday.
He was attempting to gain control of the ball before the buzzer sounded, but ended up flinging it about 20 rows deep into the crowd in apparent frustration.
Iguodala received a technical foul and was ejected from the game after a video review by officials, a decision that didn’t surprise Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
“If you throw something into the stands — a mouthpiece, a ball or whatever — you get ejected,” Kerr said after the game. “I guess the distinction the officials had to make was, was that a shot? Was he just throwing the ball toward the hoop at the end of the half? Was it out of frustration? And they deemed it was out of frustration.”
The fine was announced by Kiki VanDeWeghe, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations.
Iguodala, 34, is averaging 5.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in his 15th NBA season.
—Field Level Media