Anthony Davis Appears to Respond to Video of Him Giving Fan Middle Finger

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis said he was "disrespected" by the fan he flipped off following Wednesday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets, according to an apparent direct message conversation.

Davis said in the DM exchange, posted by Instagram account Pelicanswave, that the fan "said something I didn't like," which prompted the response.

Andrew Lopez of the Times-Picayune reported the fan said "(expletive) you, AD!"

Davis is in all likelihood playing his final games as a member of the Pelicans after publicly requesting a trade in January. The trade request soured Davis' relationship with the Pelican fanbase, who have consistently booed him since New Orleans failed to move him at the deadline.

Speaking on HBO's The Shop with LeBron James (h/t Ian Begley of ESPN), Davis discussed the crowd reaction on his first game after the trade deadline: 

"When I walked into the arena and I heard it, I was like, 'Damn, seven years I've been here, all the stuff I did for you, all the community stuff.' And so it bothered me. And then when we tipped it up, it was over. I was like, 'I'm about to get 30.'

"When I caught it, they booed. Then when we started losing and I went on a run myself, they were like, 'We want AD.' And I was like, 'You've got to make up your mind. You can't boo me and cheer me.'"

Davis will likely face a fine from the NBA, which typically punishes inappropriate gestures from players to fans regardless of the circumstance. It's unclear if the Pelicans will do anything to reprimand the fan, who is yet to be identified.

NBA teams have also increasingly cracked down on fan interactions. The Utah Jazz recently banned two fans for making racist comments, while the Boston Celtics banned a fan for two years for similar verbal abuse.