NBA fines star Anthony Edwards who says he’s still hasn’t earned respect from the referees

After Minnesota beat Oklahoma City on Monday evening, the winning team acted as if a miracle had happened. Led by Anthony Edwards’ postgame interview, the 22-year-old had no filter and said everything that came to mind, expressing how his squad felt they had to play against the Thunder plus the officiating team. 

A couple of days later, the NBA did what they do best: hand down a hefty fine to anyone who speaks against them, even if they voice the truth. This is why the Timberwolves star took a $40,000 punishment for his recent outburst after defeating their opponents 107 to 101.

Even though the forward player finished the match with four free throw attempts, he insisted that he should’ve been given more trips to the foul line. Once the final buzzer went off, he proceeded to describe the referee’s performance. “The cat got their tongue tonight, so it’s all good,” Ant first said about the officiating. “It’s not fair, but it’s all good.”

Anthony Edwards keeping it real 💯💯💯💯💯💯 pic.twitter.com/CZ2a7Anboy

— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) January 31, 2024

The No. 1 pick of the 2020 NBA Draft added then he felt like his squad was playing against eight rivals. “The refs was bad tonight. Yeah, they was terrible,” he continued in the locker room. “We was playing 8-on-5.”

The Georgia product then suggested that he feels other star athletes in the league receive way more respect than he does from the refs. “I haven’t earned [referees’ respect] yet, so it’s OK,” Anthony assured. “But I think tonight was bad from the refs. It was terrible. We didn’t get no calls as a team.”

“I got fouled multiple times, and I’m walking up to the ref telling him, ‘Hey, can you watch this?’ They just shaking their head,” he recalled. “Yeah. And then soon somebody come down from their team and get bumped, it’s a foul. So I just feel like it wasn’t a fair game tonight from the jump. And so that’s why I’m super happy we won the game.”

As the NBA justified their decision to discipline the 22-year-old by saying he “repeatedly publicly criticizing the officiating,” Edwards already knew he’d be punished. “I’m going to take the fine, because the refs did not give us no calls tonight,” were the first things that came out of his mouth during his on-court postgame interview.

Wolves beat the Mavericks by a 34-point margin this Wednesday, as Luka Doncic missed out on the game

Karl-Anthony Towns led the charge this Wednesday evening after dropping 29 points and winning 9 rebounds against Dallas, as the Minnesota team retake the Western Conference’s first place with this commanding 121-87 victory.

While the Timberwolves took control very early in the match, the Mavericks were short handed, as they missed their stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Take a look at the game’s highlights in the video below and judge it yourselves:

The Texan team’s defeat marked their third loss in three contest without their co-stars together this campaign. However, it wasn’t only Luka and Kyrie, as Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum, and Derrick Jones Jr. also missed out on the match.

Minnesota has now improved their record to 34-14, and are currently sit in the top spot in the Western Conference. Only the Thunder (33-15) and Clippers (31-15) are closely following the Wolves’ footsteps in the standings.