NEW YORK — Victor Wembanyama's celebratory tossing of a basketball into the stands was costly.
The NBA fined the San Antonio rookie $25,000 on Sunday for the act, which came at the end of Friday's 130-126 overtime win for the Spurs over the New York Knicks.
Wembanyama caught a long pass for a steal on the game's final play, wrapped his arms around the ball, high-fived a courtside fan and then tossed the ball a few rows into the crowd.
The seven-foot-four star had a career-high 40 points in the game, along with 20 rebounds and seven assists. It was the first such stat line by an NBA rookie since 1974 and only the fifth game with that many points, rebounds and assists in the last 46 years.
Friday's game also marked a career-high in points for Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who scored 61.
Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, is the consensus favourite to win rookie of the year. He is averaging 21 points and 10.5 rebounds this season.
The fine marks the first of his career.
-- with files from Sportsnet
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.