NBA announces punishment for Lakers star over actions in elimination game

Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has been fined $25K for “verbally abusing a game official,” the league announced Saturday in a press release.

According to the NBA’s announcement, the incident occurred on the court immediately after the Lakers lost Game 5 to the Nuggets in Denver on Monday.

It’s a bit of added insult to injury for Russell, whose season came to an end as a result of that Monday loss. Another veteran guard, Patrick Beverley, is expected to end up in a similar boat for his actions during the final moments of the game that ended the Bucks’ season. Beverley, who repeatedly threw a basketball at Pacers fans behind the Bucks’ bench in Indiana, will almost certainly face a more significant penalty than Russell.

The $25K fine is a drop in the bucket for Russell, who was earning a $17.3M salary this season and holds a $18.7M player option for 2024-25. There’s an expectation that he may turn down that player option in search of a more lucrative multiyear deal.