Collin Sexton Fined $35,000 for Flipping Off the Rim: The NBA’s Most Unique Technicality
Chicago Bulls guard Collin Sexton has been fined $35,000 by the NBA for making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court specifically, flipping his middle finger directly at the basket after a missed free throw.
The incident occurred with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter of the Bulls’ 123-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on February 9, 2026, at Barclays Center . Sexton, who had just missed his first attempt at the line, sank the second free throw, then stared at the rim and lifted his left hand with his middle finger extended toward the hoop .
What makes this fine remarkable isn’t the amount $35,000 is the NBA’s standard tariff for public obscenity, identical to penalties recently levied against Marcus Smart, LaMelo Ball, and Anthony Edwards . What makes it remarkable is the target.
Sexton is believed to be the first player in NBA history to be fined for flipping off an inanimate object.
The Incident: Frustration Meets Inanimate Object
Sexton finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds, and one assist in 32 minutes off the bench, shooting 6-of-8 from the charity stripe . But it was the one miss and the reaction to it that cost him more than a month’s rent for most Americans.
Video footage captured the sequence clearly: Sexton’s first attempt clanked hard off the rim. He collected himself, knocked down the second, and then, apparently still aggrieved by the uncooperative cylinder.
The NBA’s official statement was characteristically terse: “Chicago Bulls guard Collin Sexton has been fined $35,000 for making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court” . No mention of the rim.
Context: A Franchise in Free Fall
Sexton’s outburst didn’t occur in a vacuum. The Bulls have dropped seven of their last eight games, plummeting from play-in contention to 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-30 record . The loss to Brooklyn marked Chicago’s fifth consecutive defeat .
The roster around Sexton is barely recognizable. A flurry of deadline moves shipped out veterans Zach LaVine, Nikola Vučević, and Coby White, leaving 30-year-old Guerschon Yabusele as the team’s oldest player .
Sexton, acquired from Charlotte on February 4 alongside Ousmane Dieng and three second-round picks in exchange for White and Mike Conley Jr., is himself part of this youth movement .
Precedent: The $35,000 Club
Sexton’s fine places him in an exclusive fraternity of NBA players who have paid the standard rate for public indecency.
| Player | Amount | Target | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collin Sexton | $35,000 | The rim / basket | Feb. 2026 |
| Marcus Smart | $35,000 | Referee | 2024 |
| LaMelo Ball | $35,000 | Referee | 2024 |
| Anthony Edwards | $35,000 | Fan(s) | 2024 |
| Tristan Thompson | $15,000 | Fan(s) | 2024 |
The consistency of the $35,000 figure suggests a standardized penalty schedule for obscene gestures, regardless of recipient. Only Thompson’s $15,000 fine deviates, perhaps reflecting mitigating circumstances or a different category of infraction.
Sexton’s Silence
As of publication, Sexton has not addressed the fine or the gesture with reporters . His postgame comments focused instead on his new team’s potential after a single walk-through: “We definitely can be very special,” he told the Chicago Tribune.
Something good may indeed be coming for the Bulls eventually. But for now, Sexton is $35,000 poorer, the proud owner of a distinction no player has ever sought: first to flip off the rim and pay for it.
