Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield fined $25k for obscene gesture

Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Wednesday, the league announced.

The fine was given out for "making an obscene gesture on the playing court," according to the release. The incident occurred early in the second quarter during Indiana's battle with Charlotte on Monday when Hield was on the bench.

The moment was likely captured on the Bally Sports Southeast broadcast of the game. Hield is shown chatting with Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton on the bench, and during the 19 second sequence in which the teammates are shown, Hield flips off an unknown person three times.

You can watch the interaction via a video in the embedded tweet below.

If I had to guess, I would say that it came from this moment: https://t.co/fGyw70CEN6 pic.twitter.com/vvUpUfICzA
— Tony East (@TonyREast) March 22, 2023

While it is unclear who Hield was directing the gesture towards, his smiles suggest it was being done in a more playful than malicious way. He flipped off Haliburton during a game earlier this season with a huge smile, and that moment is now Haliburton's cover photo image on Twitter.

Regardless of intent, Hield's actions were on camera, and he now owes the NBA some money. The fine equates to roughly 1/10th of what Hield makes per-game this season in salary.

The Pacers lost to the Hornets 115-109 that night. Hield finished with 20 points and four rebounds.

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