Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has an interesting relationship with the NBA's officials, to say the least, and things probably did not improve after Gobert made a familiar gesture during Minnesota's Game 4 loss to the Denver Nuggets that is going to cost him a bit of money.
Gobert, who was memorably fined and handed a technical for actions during and after a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in March, made a brief ‘money sign' gesture in Game 4 after he was called for a foul, his fifth of the game, on Jamal Murray.
While he was not issued a technical foul, Gobert was fined $75,000 today by the NBA for “making an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture that questions the integrity of the league and its game officials.” The league's press release also mentioned that “the fine takes into account Gobert's history of improper conduct toward game officials.”
Rudy Gobert's history with NBA officials
Rudy Gobert made the same money gesture, while more noticeable, during the aforementioned game in Cleveland back in March. In that instance, Gobert was called for a loose-ball foul in the final 30 seconds of regulation with the Timberwolves clinging onto a one-point lead. After being called for the foul, Gobert rubbed his fingers together and pointed at an official, which drew a technical foul and allowed the Cavaliers to tie the game up and send it to overtime, where they would win.
After the game, Gobert, while admitting he should not have made the gesture, indicated sports betting could be a factor in how NBA games are officiated.
“My reaction, which I think is truth — it’s what I truly believe — even if it’s the truth, it wasn’t the time for me to react that way,” Gobert said. “I should have not done that. I cost my team the game, and obviously, they couldn’t wait to give me a tech. That was bad. That was an immature reaction.
“I made some mistakes. I air-balled a dunk. Mistakes happen. Referees make mistakes, too. But sometimes I think it’s more than mistakes. I think everyone that’s in this league knows. I think it’s got to get better. … I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”
These comments came nearly a year after Gobert ranted about the league's officiating following a 107-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“It’s bull—-. Bull—-. It’s not fair. It’s really not fair. Every night. I’ve been in this league for 10 years and I try to always give the benefit of the doubt, but it’s hard for me to think they’re not trying to help them win tonight,” Gobert said after the March 2023 game in Phoenix (via Chris Hine of the Star Tribune). “It’s hard for me to think they didn’t try to help the Warriors win the other night or Sacramento Kings the other night. It’s just so obvious. As a basketball player that’s been in this league for so long, it’s disrespectful and it sucks, to be honest.
“We work so hard to be in a position to compete with the best and we just get manipulated into those situations where it just impacts the game for the other team too much. They know how to do it. They do it a lot different ways. Tonight was another way of doing it. … We understand that we're not the biggest of the markets and we're a team that — I think you want to see KD (Kevin Durant) in the playoffs, Steph [Curry] in the playoffs, you want to see LeBron [James] in the playoffs. Timberwolves are not there yet.”
For those comments, Gobert received a $25,000 fine, which was his third fine for public criticism of officials. Including his two fines with the Utah Jazz and three in Minnesota, Gobert has been fined five times for criticizing or gesturing about the referees in his career for a total of $235,000.
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