Although it’s straightforward to see why it’s being interpreted this manner, Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels insists he didn’t fake to make a gun gesture at his former teammates after hitting a 3-pointer on Sunday night time.
Daniels, through the Hawks’ 126-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on the Smoothie King Middle on Sunday, hit a shot from behind the arc. He shortly turned towards the Pelicans’ bench and appeared to make a gun gesture arm whereas holding three fingers prolonged.
Daniels, when requested concerning the second after the sport, stated he was “simply telling all of them that it was price 3 factors.”
“It might need appeared like [a gun], however I used to be simply telling them it was price 3 factors,” Daniels stated, through The Related Press. “You already know, pointing at all of them, that’s all it was. I used to be ensuring all of them knew what number of factors it was price.”
Daniels, who spent his first two seasons within the league with the Pelicans earlier than he was traded to the Hawks this previous offseason, was not penalized for the gesture in actual time.
“I didn’t get [a technical foul], so the ref was proper,” he stated. “I used to be simply on the market having enjoyable. I hoped to hit a 3 in that nook so I might let the bench find out about it. It was a sport I had circled on my calendar.”
The NBA has fined gamers for related gestures previously. Josh Jackson, for instance, acquired a $35,000 nice in 2017 for making a “menacing gesture” on the courtroom that was directed at a fan. The NFL has cracked down on related celebrations this season, too, and fined a number of gamers for making gun gestures whereas celebrating. It’s unclear if the NBA will penalize Daniels.
Daniels, who the Pelicans took with the No. 8 total select of Australia in 2022, had 16 factors and 5 rebounds within the Hawks’ win on Sunday night time. He’s averaging a career-high 13.4 factors and 4.4 rebounds per sport this season.
The win for Atlanta snapped a four-game shedding skid and moved it to 3-4 on the season. The Hawks will host the Boston Celtics subsequent on Monday night time.
