NBA fines Rudy Gobert $75k for second offense of ‘inappropriate and unprofessional gesture’ toward Scott Foster

NBA official Scott Foster, also known as "The Extender," has racked up a lengthy list of enemies throughout his 29-year career. But perhaps no one has grown to dislike him less than Minnesota Timberwolves center and Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

Foster was the crew chief for Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Timberwolves and reigning champion Denver Nuggets, where Gobert did not take a liking to two fouls being called on him in 12 seconds during the latter stages of the fourth quarter when Minnesota was in striking distance with hopes of taking a 3-1 series lead, rubbing his fingers together and flashing a money-sign gesture directed at the refs:

In response, the league hammered the three-time All-Star with a $75,000 fine, per an official announcement by executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars.

NBA fines Rudy Gobert $75k for second offense of ‘inappropriate and unprofessional gesture’ toward Scott Foster

The NBA came down hard on Gobert for "making an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture that questions the integrity of the league and its game officials," taking his "history of improper conduct toward game officials" into consideration, according to the statement released on Tuesday.

Ironically enough, Gobert was fined $100,000 only a couple of months ago for making a similar motion toward none other than -- yep, you guessed it, Foster. However, seeing the value of the penalty go down for a repeat offense is strange.

Gobert has not been shy to let Foster know how he feels about his officiating expertise (or lack thereof), on and off the court, literally putting his money where his mouth is. He is consciously paying a hefty price to bad-mouth the latter.

"Not surprised," Gobert said when asked to share his thoughts about the fine after the Timberwolves' morning shootaround on Tuesday. "I got to control my emotions. It was a very physical game, an emotional game. So I got to control my emotions," he said.

As Gobert said, he must get his mind right ahead of Game 5 of the hard-fought slugfest of a series against the Nuggets after the Timberwolves won the first two games on the road only to squander an opportunity to put Denver on the ropes. If not, Minnesota could be in trouble.