NBA fines Buddy Hield $25K for flipping off someone courtside in Charlotte
The veteran guard appeared to be doing it in a playful way. It was unlucky timing because the Hornets' telecast had just switched to a shot of Haliburton and Hield on the bench.
Pacers guard Buddy Hield has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for “making an obscene gesture on the playing court.”
It’s unfortunate for Hield, who was on the bench and appeared to be flipping off someone across the court in a friendly way.
Not once, but three times. And the third time was done with the sly smile he wears often.
Hield has made that obscene gesture several times on the court this season, in practice and in games, and it’s usually directed at Haliburton in a playful way.
Just look at the background image in Haliburton’s Twitter profile.
It was unlucky timing for Hield, too, because while it wasn’t captured on the Indiana (Bally Sports Indiana) telecast, the Hornets (Bally Sports Southeast) telecast had just switched to a fullscreen shot of Tyrese Haliburton and Hield as they discussed the success of Pacers-Kings trade a year ago.
This moment occurred with 11:40 left during the second quarter of the Pacers’ loss at the Spectrum Center on Monday. There was a stoppage in action at the other end of the court, so it’s important to note that it was not directed at a Hornets player or game official.
Instead, it was one expensive way of saying hello to a friend across the court.
Probably not the picture he would prefer to have his mom or kids see and not the best foot forward for the Pacers. $25k seems like a big number to most of us who live in the real world. But to an NBA star who makes 22.48 million this year, or $274,146 per game this represents just 0.0912 of this game's paycheck. Or 0.0011121 of his annual, this year. If you made $60,000/yr it would be similar to a $67.26 forced charitable donation. Except at 60k you probably need that $67 for gas or food.