We’ve seen plenty of NBA players fling fastballs at opponents to try to save balls from caroming out of bounds. But on Sunday, Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane decided to pelt New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby while he was comfortably in bounds, resulting in a technical foul.
On Monday, Bane was fined $35,000 by the NBA for “throwing the game ball with force at an opponent in an unsportsmanlike manner,” the league announced.
Desmond Bane t’d up for flinging ball at OG Anunoby pic.twitter.com/m5LYezhI4z
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) December 7, 2025
The play unfolded in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 106-100 win, after Anunoby lost the ball on a transition layup with two Magic defenders closing in. The loose ball bounced to Bane, who gathered it and then fired it at Anunoby, who had fallen out of bounds. Anunoby immediately stood up with a confused look, before lightly shoving Bane. The referees quickly separated the two as the teams’ coaching staffs and benches came onto the court. A technical foul was assessed to Bane.
Afterward, Anunoby and Bane seemed to laugh about the play together, embracing each other during the game. Anunoby, who was playing in his second game after missing nine straight with a hamstring injury, scored 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting with seven rebounds in 28 minutes.
“I should have caught it,” Anunoby said after the game about Bane’s throw.
Knicks announcers Mike Breen and Clyde Frazier said they had never seen a play like that before, expressing their incredulousness at Bane’s move. Former NBA player DeMarcus Cousins said on FanDuel TV that Anunoby could have reacted much more aggressively. Chandler Parsons also shared his surprise on the broadcast, calling it “one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen on a basketball court.”
“I’m not saying punch him in the face, but maybe slap the s— out of him,” Cousins said. “That’s crazy.”
Earlier in the year, Bane was ejected for spiking the ball off Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu’s head after a transition foul. He later called it a “hard foul.”
The Magic and Knicks are both in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, as New York sits in second place while Orlando is fifth entering Monday’s games. The teams won’t meet again in the regular season, as the Magic won two of the three games.
