Third-year wing Desmond Bane has been fined $15K for kicking the ball into the stands late in the fourth quarter of the Grizzlies‘ loss to the Celtics on Monday, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
The 30th overall pick of the 2020 draft, Bane has been one of the best bargains in the league on his rookie scale contract, which pays him $2.1M this season. Since he makes a relatively lesser amount compared to the estimate average salary of an NBA player in 2022-23 ($10,792,000), a $15K fine is obviously a more substantial penalty to Bane than it would be to someone who makes more money.
Bane is off to an outstanding start this season for the 8-4 Grizzlies, averaging career highs of 24.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists with a sparkling .467/.463/.898 shooting line in 11 games (33.5 minutes per night). After Memphis picked up his $3,845,083 option for ’23-24 last month, Bane became eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer, and he’s a virtual lock to land a huge payday as one of the team’s best players.
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