Julius Randle fined $15K for ‘obscene gesture’
The NBA was clearly none too amused by Julius Randle’s recent tribute to Sam Cassell.
The Lakers forward was slapped with a $15,000 fine on Friday for making an “obscene gesture” after hitting the game-winner in Wednesday night’s overtime victory over the Miami Heat, per Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report.
Lakers' Julius Randle fined $15,000 by the NBA for his celebratory dance ("obscene gesture") Wednesday night.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) April 1, 2016
The gesture in question? None other than the legendary “big balls” dance that has forged its way into basketball lore over the years.
We’ve seen several other NBA players draw fines in the past for busting out the same move in celebration (including Jameer Nelson and Kevin Martin). Sam Cassell and Eddie House are widely credited with popularizing the gesture, but it may have actually originated back in 1994 with the release of Major League II.
Whatever the case, for Randle, who is averaging a double-double on the year and is now starting to be trusted by the Lakers in crunchtime situations, it had to be worth every last penny.
H/T theScore