NBA punishes Raptors coach for heated rant against officiating

The least surprising fine of the NBA season has officially dropped.

The league announced on Thursday that they have fined Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic over his heated rant on Tuesday in which he railed against the refereeing. Rajakovic is being fined $25,000 for “publicly criticizing the officiating.”

After a narrow 132-131 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on the road, Rajakovic went off in his postgame news conference. He pointed to the big discrepancy in fourth-quarter free throws between the two teams, calling it “completely BS” and a “shame.” You can watch Rajakovic’s full heated rant here.

The Raptors, who also lost 126-120 to the L.A. Clippers the next night, are now just 15-23 on the season. Meanwhile, Rajakovic is a rookie head coach who is in his first year in charge of Toronto. Thus, showing his players that he will always have their backs is probably more important than the hit that Rajakovic is taking to his wallet right now.

It also may be worth noting here that Ben Taylor was the referee crew chief for Tuesday’s Lakers-Raptors game. Taylor is an official whom the Raptors have already had major gripes with in seasons past.