Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Denver Nuggets is guarded by D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers in the first quarter during game five of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Ball Arena on April 29, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Getty Images via AFP)
NEW YORK – Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Saturday for verbally abusing a game official.
Russell yelled at the official just after the Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs with a 108-106 loss at Denver on Monday.
The Lakers were unhappy about two contact plays that were not whistled for fouls in the final seconds of the defeat, which gave the defending NBA champion Nuggets a 4-1 victory in the best-of-seven Western Conference first round series.
The NBA’s report on plays in the last two minutes of contests said that no call being made was the proper decision in both instances.
Russell averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists a game for the Lakers this season, when the team went 47-35 and beat New Orleans in a play-in game to secure a playoff berth against the Nuggets.
Russell helped the Lakers win the In-Season Tournament last December but the team fired coach Darvin Ham on Friday after two seasons. They reached the Western Conference final last season before falling to Denver.
A major overhaul of the Lakers could be in the works with LeBron James and Anthony Davis able to opt out of their contracts before next season.
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