Hornets' Dwight Howard fined $25,000 for obscene gesture towards fan

Howard made gesture late in second quarter of Hornets' loss to Timberwolves on Sunday night

The Charlotte Hornets trip to Minneapolis on Sunday to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves did not go well. Neither for the team, nor Dwight Howard.

Led by a balanced attack that saw six different players score 13 points or more, the Wolves cruised to a 112-94 victory (box score). It was a second straight loss for the Hornets, who are now 5-5 on the season, and sit in eighth place in the conference. 

As for Howard, he had 13 points and nine rebounds, but also turned the ball over four times, and had a plus/minus of minus-13. In addition, he also made an obscene gesture towards a fan near the end of the second quarter, which has now cost him $25,000.

The NBA announced the fine Tuesday afternoon.

NBA announces $25K fine for @DwightHoward for obscene gesture towards fan in Sunday’s game vs. Timberwolves.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) November 7, 2017

Here is video of the incident. The video is not super high quality, but you can still clearly see Howard making an obscene gesture towards a fan.

Here's why Dwight Howard was fined $25,000 @wcnc #Hornets pic.twitter.com/sYWxTvAnio

— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) November 7, 2017

This isn't the end of the world, but it is another case where you have to stop and shake your head at something Howard was doing. Which, unfortunately, is a common occurrence. 

Howard is not the first player to be fined this season for their interactions with fans. Both DeMarcus Cousins and Kyrie Irving have also been dinged for $25K for using inappropriate language towards fans.