Anthony Edwards Fined $75K for Criticizing NBA Refs After Wolves' Loss to Warriors

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was fined $75,000 by the NBA for "public criticism of the officiating and using inappropriate and profane language."

The two-time All-Star's comments occurred after a 113-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

"The s--t was terrible," Edwards said. "They don't want to talk back to my coach, they don't want to talk back to me. I said one thing to the ref, and he gave me a tech. Motherf--ker told one of my teammates if I would have said 'y'all calling a bad foul' he would have given me a tech."

The Timberwolves have lost two straight games, sitting at 14-13 this season.

Inconsistency has defined the start of the 2024-25 season for Minnesota, as the team has been unable to capitalize on momentum following a trip to the Western Conference Finals.

Trade acquisitions such as Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo have struggled to adjust to the change of scenery, and the Timberwolves have dropped from the best net rating in the association last season to the No. 5 mark to open the year (via NBA.com).

Edwards has remained efficient to start his fifth year in the league, averaging 25.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on 44.8/42.1/80.5 shooting splits.

It's worth noting that he's averaging just 4.2 free-throw attempts per game this season after recording 6.4 shots from the charity stripe each night last year.

Edwards is also avoiding the paint compared to past years, though. He's taking a career-low 14.7 percent of his shots within three feet of the basket after attempting 27.6 percent of his total shots in that range throughout his first four years in the association (via Basketball Reference).

He acknowledged that he hasn't been able to get to the rim as frequently, which may be affecting his ability to draw fouls.

"If you watch the game, there's nothing for me to do if I get downhill," Edwards said after a 133-107 loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday. "Everybody want me to get downhill. I know that's my strength. I get to the rim, lay the ball up, dunk the ball, but I can't do that if there's no lane, it's not open. Every team we play did a great job of sitting in the gaps. When I get to the rim, putting four people at the rim."

"So, I mean there's nothing I can do about going to the hole right now," he added.

Edwards has been fined for criticizing officiating in the past, as he was penalized $40,000 during the 2023-24 season.

The Timberwolves will attempt to put an end to their brief losing streak against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET.