[NEW YORK] Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler was fined US$25,000 by the NBA for violating league rules regarding media interview access during the NBA All-Star Game weekend activities, the league announced Friday.

Butler was fined not only for "failure to comply with his media availability obligations" but also for "non-compliance with the resulting NBA investigation." His media snubs included after the NBA All-Star on Sunday, in which Butler scored two points and made two steals in nine minutes off the bench to help Team LeBron James defeat Team Kevin Durant 163-160.

Butler is averaging 21.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.8 steals a game for the Heat, who are second in the Eastern Conference at 38-21, one win shy of the pace-setting Chicago Bulls.

The 32-year-old American, in his 11th NBA campaign, sparked the Heat into the 2020 NBA Finals, where Miami lost to the James-led Los Angeles Lakers.

AFP