NEW YORK — Victor Wembaneyama's celebratory throw of a basketball into the stands came at a high cost.
The NBA fined the San Antonio rookie $25,000 on Sunday for his actions after Friday's game, in which the Spurs won 130-126 in overtime over the New York Knicks.
Wenbanyama caught Steele's long pass on the final play of the game, wrapped his arms around the ball and high-fived a courtside fan before tossing the ball into several rows of the crowd.
He had 40 points, 20 rebounds, and 7 assists in this game. It was the first stat line like this by an NBA rookie since 1974.
Meanwhile, guard Jalen Brunson scored 61 points, the second-highest score in Knicks history, and a ball boy working on the team's bench sprinted to retrieve the ball from the fan who caught it because it was a valuable memento. did.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, this is only the second time in NBA history that one player had a 40-point, 20-rebound game while another had a 60-point game. Another example is 1961, when Elgin Baylor had 63 points and Wilt Chamberlain had 78 points and 43 rebounds.
Wembaneyama, the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, is the consensus favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He is averaging 21 points and 10.5 rebounds this season.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
