Blazers' Robert Covington Fined $15K for Throwing Facemask at Ref During Kings Game

Portland Trail Blazers forward Robert Covington has been fined $15,000 for throwing his mask at a game official, the NBA announced Friday.

The incident occurred during the second quarter of the Trail Blazers' 125-121 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Covington was given a technical foul and ejected from the game for his actions.

Covington tossed his mask in frustration after Kings guard Buddy Hield made a three-pointer with 49.9 seconds to play before halftime. His actions were reviewed for a hostile act against an official. The call was held up, and Covington was ejected.

Covington is in his ninth NBA season and his second in Portland. The 30-year-old is averaging 6.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a starter alongside Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Jusuf Nurkic.

Covington, who went undrafted out of Tennessee State in 2013, signed a three-year, $2.25 million deal with the Houston Rockets for the 2013-14 campaign before joining the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014-15.

The Illinois native spent four-and-a-half seasons with the Sixers before being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2018-19 season. He hasn't had much stability since his final year in Philly.

After being traded to Minnesota, he was sent back to Houston during the 2019-20 campaign before being traded to Portland ahead of the 2020-21 season. Covington will become an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season.

The Trail Blazers have been average at best this season, owning a 10-9 record entering Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors. Luckily, Covington isn't suspended and will be available against Golden State, which owns the NBA's best record at 16-2.