Anthony Edwards Fined $40K for Criticism of Refs After Timberwolves Win vs. Thunder

Minnesota Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards did not hold back when he voiced his frustration with the referees of Monday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and now he's paying a steep price.

The NBA announced Wednesday that Edwards has been fined $40,000 for his comments criticizing officials following Minnesota's 107-101 win.

Edwards led the Timberwolves with 27 points in Monday's win, which gave Minnesota sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. However, he griped about only getting four free throws during the game when he felt he should've gotten more calls.

Edwards was seen in the postgame celebration calling the referees out for "cheating" and then said in his postgame interview, "I'm going to take the fine, because the refs did not give us no calls tonight."

Edwards' criticisms didn't stop there, as he continued to harp on the issue when speaking to reporters in the locker room following the win.

"The refs was bad tonight. Yeah, they was terrible," Edwards told ESPN's Tim MacMahon without prompting. "We was playing 8-on-5."

Edwards, who is expected to be selected to his second All-Star Game this year, added that he feels like he doesn't get the same respect as other stars in the NBA.

"I haven't earned [referees' respect] yet, so it's OK," Edwards said. "But I think tonight was bad from the refs. It was terrible. We didn't get no calls as a team. I got fouled multiple times, and I'm walking up to the ref telling him, 'Hey, can you watch this?' They just shaking their head. Yeah. And then soon somebody come down from their team and get bumped, it's a foul. So I just feel like it wasn't a fair game tonight from the jump. And so that's why I'm super happy we won the game."

Edwards will return to the court when the Timberwolves take on the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

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