The Los Angeles Lakers played the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals tonight, though one particular instant grabbed the interest of viewers of the nationally broadcast game. Although Luka Doncic’s step-back three-pointer prompted a Spurs timeout, it wasn’t the game-winning shot.

Immediately after the timeout call, with 3:54 left in the first quarter, Lakers center Jaxson Hayes approached Doncic to celebrate the shot, and the two went through their handshake, with the final step being a gesture where their middle fingers were pointed at each other. Fans immediately clipped the moment, and it spread like wildfire online.

The conversation quickly started shifting. What looked like teammates joking around suddenly turned into a discussion about the league’s potential reviews of the moment, and whether the friendly gesture still counts as ‘obscene’ under the NBA’s rules. Unfortunately for them, history isn’t helping.

We’ve seen this happen dozens of times before. Earlier this year, in January, Anthony Edwards was fined $50,000 for making obscene gestures at a referee, after previously receiving a $35,000 fine in November for making another obscene gesture. This isn’t new either.

The NBA hasn’t held back in the past to fine players for these kinds of gestures. Back in 2022, then Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was seen pointing both his middle fingers towards fans in TD Garden and received a $50,000 fine. Just last year, in November, Russell Westbrook was handed a $35,000 fine for making gestures towards the bench.

But this one’s tricky. It wasn’t intentional, disrespectful, and not meant for the officials, crowd, or the other team; it was just two teammates laughing along. Still, past examples show that the league doesn’t evaluate the intent, just the gesture itself, and with Doncic being one of the most popular stars in the league, the clip’s going to have global visibility.

No word yet on how the league will look at it, but the cost of being one of the faces of the league and the most popular franchise in the NBA sometimes begets increased scrutiny.

The San Antonio Spurs Took Control Against Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers

The San Antonio Spurs didn’t just land the first punch, but dominate early on. The team went on a 20-4 run from the end of the first into the second quarter, flipping the team’s momentum and pulling the Lakers out of their comfort zone. Guards Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox kept their foot on the gas, attacking gaps and getting downhill, leaning on pace without star Victor Wembanyama to build a 70-58 lead at halftime.

The Lakers found some footing behind Luka Doncic‘s 35 and Marcus Smart’s 26 in his first game back, but every run they made needed a lot of energy. LA managed to trim the lead to eight when Austin Reaves converted a three-point play with just under four minutes left, but the gap stopped closing.

The Lakers kept making late rotations, miscommunicating off-ball actions, and let Castle get to his spots without resistance, letting the Spurs stay poised when the Lakers tried to build momentum.

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By the end, Castle’s night told the full story. In his second game back from a hip injury, the reigning Rookie of the Year logged 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists on 10-14 from the field, capping the game off with a dagger three with 1:41 left to push the lead to 130-116. The Spurs now head to Las Vegas for a semifinals clash against last year’s Cup finalist Oklahoma City Thunder.