The NBA fined Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry $50,000 for throwing his mouthpiece during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Curry previously said that a fine will be sufficient punishment as opposed to the idea of adding a game suspension to the violation. Apparently, he's unaware of the amount of money at stake for throwing his mouthpiece out of frustration.
Talking to ESPN's Chris Haynes on Monday night, Curry shared his thoughts saying the fine is too much. "It's an expensive mouthpiece toss," he said. "At the end of the day, it's not about the money, it's about me not doing stupid stuff and losing my cool like that.
It's obviously a tough blow, but it's more so about me recognizing how to handle myself on the court." The incident led to Curry's ejection from the game, which was subsequently followed by Kevin Durant's ejection.
Similar incident in 2016
This is the second time Stephen Curry has been ejected due to his mouthpiece-throwing stunts. The previous incident was during the 2016 finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was fined $25,000 for the violation without game suspension. While it is not clear how the league came up with the $50,000 fine, Curry has stated that he will not do this ever again.
The NBA decided to give Curry a fine instead of a game suspension after confirming that he did not deliberately aim his mouthpiece at the referee.
In his interview following the incident, Stephen Curry said: "I didn't throw my mouthpiece at the ref. I got better aim than that. I threw it out of frustration."
His ejection rooted from a contested layup, which he thought called for a foul. He threw his mouth piece in the official's direction seconds after realizing that a foul would not be called.
Kevin Durant came to Curry's defense causing him to be ejected from the game as well.
GSW reaction to Stephen Curry
GSW coach Steve Kerr joked about Curry's recent game ejection saying that he deserved at eight suspensions for endangering "thousands of people in the stands." Meanwhile, Draymond Green was less amused with the double ejection saying they can't win games if they keep getting such harsh punishments.
Stephen Curry has since acknowledged his mistake on Twitter and vowed not to make the same mistake again. He is also aware that the league is looking closely into such behavior, so another incident like this could lead to a game suspension.
The Golden State Warriors are currently 2-2 in the NBA standing which is a slow start for the defending champions.
