NBA fines Dwight Howard for obscene gesture against Cavaliers

Charlotte Hornets center Dwight Howard will have to pay up for his “obscene gesture” against the Cleveland Cavaliers. (AP Photo)
Charlotte Hornets center Dwight Howard will have to pay up for his “obscene gesture” against the Cleveland Cavaliers. (AP Photo)

The inevitable fine for Dwight Howard’s bit of showmanship against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night has been handed down.

The Charlotte Hornets’ big man will have to give up $35,000 for what the league has generously called an “obscene gesture.” It’s almost a shame the league stopped short of describing the gesture, because, well, there may not be many family-friendly ways to do so.

Go ahead and try to think of a corporate-style statement recounting what Howard did. It’s not easy. So you can’t blame the NBA for opting to use as few words as possible on this.

Howard has actually been quietly dominating the league again this season. He’s averaging 15.5 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, racking up at least 20 points and 13 boards in each of Charlotte’s last three games.

With Dwight getting his game back, his antics surely wouldn’t be far behind.

It now appears Howard is back to truly being himself — for better or worse.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!