Collin Sexton got into a spat with an NBA rim and came away $35,000 poorer.
The newly acquired Chicago Bulls guard was seen flipping off the rim at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center after bricking a free throw during Monday’s 123-115 loss to the Nets.
‘Chicago Bulls guard Collin Sexton has been fined $35,000 for making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court,’ the NBA announced Tuesday.
Sexton is far from the first NBA player to get fined for flipping the bird. Marcus Smart and LaMelo Ball were both hit with $35,000 penalties for doing so to an NBA ref, while Anthony Edwards and Tristan Thompson were fined $35,000 and $15,000 respectively for giving the middle finger to fans.
He is, however, the first to be fined for flipping off the basket, which has been the source of ridicule on social media.
‘Sadly,’ one fan wrote on X, ‘the NBA is going to fine Collin Sexton for this without even asking him what the rim said first.’
Newly acquired Chicago Bulls guard Collin Sexton was seen flipping off the rim at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center after bricking a free throw during Monday’s 123-115 loss to the Nets
Sexton did make 6 of 8 free throws for the game and over 87 percent for the year
‘How much of that is going to the rim and its family who had to witness this heinous act?’ another asked.
Several others pointed out that the rim is not a sentient being: ‘Can’t even flip off an inanimate object in peace.’
In Sexton’s defense, he did make 6 of 8 free throws for the game and made a remarkable 87.7 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe in Charlotte before his recent trade to Chicago.
Sexton has yet to address the fine with reporters.
The incident is just the latest embarrassment for a team that has dropped seven of its last eight games. Over that time, the Bulls have fallen out of the play-in spots, down to 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Some columnists and fans are now calling on coach Billy Donovan to tank the rest of the way to improve the Bulls’ draft position ahead of a talented rookie class in 2026-27.
One could say that has already begun, as a flurry of deadline moves left 30-year-old Guerschon Yabusele as the team’s oldest player. In total, 11 Bulls players are now 25 or younger after Chicago shed pricy veterans like Zach LaVine, Nikola Vučević and Coby White.
The good news for Chicago is the team does have Portland’s 2026 draft pick, provided it falls outside of the first 14 picks.