Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert on Friday were both fined by the NBA for being critical of the officiating in Wednesday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Mitchell, who was also reprimanded for his conduct while exiting the court, was docked $25,000 in the statement by NBA executive vice president Kiki VanDeWeghe. Gobert was fined $20,000.
After Wednesday’s game, Michell, who was hit with technical fouls on two separate plays in the final minute of overtime and was ejected with 30.5 seconds to go, said he was tired of the Jazz being “screwed” by the referees, calling the way his team’s games are officiated “f—ing ridiculous.”
As he left the court, Mitchell smashed a water cooler to the floor — described by VanDeWeghe on Friday as “reckless” — then appeared to apologize to a security guard sitting near it as he went to the visitors locker room inside the Wells Fargo Center.
Gobert also joined in with the complaints after Wednesday’s game, leading to his fine.
“Our guys are not able to get calls everybody else in the f—ing league gets,” Gobert said Wednesday. “We know we are the Utah Jazz, and maybe some people don’t want to see us go as far as we can go, but it’s disappointing.
“Three times in a row, Mike Conley is going to the rim, and they’re grabbing him right in front of the officials, and there’s no calls. And on the other end, there are calls that are invisible that are being made.”