NBA punishes Pistons guard Evan Fournier with $25K fine for kicking the ball postgame

This weekend, the Pistons suffered a frustrating defeat at the hands of the Heat at the Little Caesars Arena. Despite the fact that Evan Fournier played one of his best games in a Detroit uniform, he was handed a $25,000 fine from the NBA for kicking the ball high to the air just as their rivals sentenced the game with a devastating three pointer.

This Monday, NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced that the player’s actions couldn’t go unpunished and delivered him this hefty fine for “kicking the ball into the spectator stands.”

The situation took place right in the final seconds of the game which ended in a 104-101 defeat for the Pistons, as they were tied with nine seconds left to the buzzer, and teammate Cade Cunningham missed a three-pointer. Rival Terry Rozier then grabbed the ball and nailed it from beyond the arc.

Evan Fournier was fined $25K for kicking the ball in the air after a last-second loss versus Miami 👀pic.twitter.com/cQXtE3Ayhm

— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) March 19, 2024

Fournier simply couldn’t hold in his frustrations and kicked the ball as high as he could. It’s hard to judge if he meant to lead the ball into the stands, but still the league wasn’t having any of it.

When asked about Fournier’s performance after the game, his coach Monty Williams explained how the player has slowly been returning to his best version. “We didn’t know because he hadn’t played a lot in the last couple of years. And so we just didn’t know where he would be. But I watched him a little bit in New York, but mostly in Orlando.”

The Detroit tactician values the athlete’s confidence, especially as he transmits this to the younger core. “You know, that’s what Evan does. And he’s not afraid to take big shots. And that’s something that we value,” he added.

“His spacing of the floor, his ability to pass, and defensively, I thought he was really good in low-man tonight. He had at least three deflections, a couple of steals just being in right spot as a low-man. He’s a smart player and he can play with the ball. He’s a facilitator, he can play in ball screens and we know he can knock down a shot,” Monty shared.

In that same game, the Pistons honored 2004 NBA championship team by celebrating their legacy

This year, Detroit’s 2004 NBA championship will turn 20 years of age and the Pistons organization have already started the celebrations in hopes that some of that winning culture can rub off on the current squad. This past Sunday, the Little Caesars Arena was filled with icons, everyone from Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups.

It has been more than a decade now since any of those former stars played an official league contest, but they still made the crowd roar in memory of the franchise’s last title. The ceremony occurred before Detroit lost 104 to 101 against Miami over the weekend.

Before the start of the game, all ten honorees signed autographs while walking down a blue carpet. The other players there included Darvin Ham, Tayshaun Price, Elden Campbell, Mike James, Lindsey Hunter, Mehmet Okur and Tremaine Fowlkes.

Billups recognized that their greatness resided in the team’s collective spirit. “We didn’t, and we actually took pride in that too,” he shared that Sunday. “We didn’t have no superstars, I would agree with that. We had All-Stars, but superstars are different, and most teams that win it all usually have one or two of those guys.”