The NBA has imposed a large fine on Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert for hinting to referees that he felt they had a sports bet on Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers

With less than 30 seconds remaining in a close game in which the Timberwolves lead the Cavaliers 97-96, Gobert was called for his sixth foul of the night. Gobert fouled out of the game, and he didn’t like Scott Foster’s decision.
As he walked off the floor, Gobert rubbed his fingers together, implying that money was on theThe league did not enjoy the demonstration, and it has now escalated beyond the technical foul Gobert received. The league declared that Gobert was fined $100,000 for making the gesture.

“The fine takes into account Gobert’s previous instances of conduct detrimental to the NBA, such as publicly criticizing officiating,” NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars said.

The worst thing was that the technical penalty allowed the Cavs to tie the game, which Cleveland eventually won 113-104.
Gobert addressed to media after the game, and he reiterated his stance that betting is detrimental to the game.


“I’ll bite the bullet again,” Gobert declared on Friday. “I will be the bad guy. I’ll accept the fine, but I believe it’s damaging our game. I understand that the betting and other activities are growing increasingly popular, but it should not seem that way.
My reaction, which I believe was accurate, although it was not appropriate at the time. This cost my squad the game. It was an immature response. It’s not a single call. Everyone makes errors, but when they occur repeatedly, it may be irritating.

Micah Nori, who was sitting in for Chris Finch as acting head coach, was unhappy with Gobert’s behavior at the time.


“A technical foul with 27 seconds left in the game, to be honest, is unacceptable,” said Timberwolves associate head coach Micah Nori, who was stepping in for an ailing Chris Finch. “That’s who Rudy is, but you have to be intelligent. He created an automatic visual. He was clearly frustrated—as were both teams—but we needed to be smarter.”

Gobert, the frontrunner for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, finished the game with seven points and 17 rebounds for the Western Conference’s No. 2 team.