Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams was hit with a $25,000 fine on Monday over profane language.
Williams, however, didn’t say anything bad in the wake of the team’s Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets. Instead, the fine was issued for Williams’ choice of clothing.
Williams, after the Thunder’s series-clinching 125-93 win, wore a T-shirt with profanity on it when he met with reporters at the Paycom Center. The shirt in question had the phrase, “F*** art, let’s dance” written in red letters across the chest.
So even though Williams didn’t use the profanity — which almost always earns such a fine from the league — it’s clear the NBA’s front office is considering this as the same type of offense. So, it assessed the fine.
The Thunder cruised to the 32-point blowout win without much issue Sunday, which ended their series against the Nuggets and secured their first trip to the Western Conference finals since 2016. Williams had 24 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in that win.
Williams, 24, averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this season, all of which are career-highs. He has one year left on his initial four-year, $20.2 million rookie deal.
The Thunder will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals starting with Game 1 on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. The Thunder opened as big -375 favorites to win the series on BetMGM, which made them biggest favorites in the conference finals in franchise history. The Thunder were underdogs in their last four conference finals appearances. The closest they came was in 1996, when the then-Seattle SuperSonics were -270 favorites against the Utah Jazz.
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