The NBA fined Atlanta Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan $25,000 on Thursday for making comments Wednesday "asserting bias by the NBA relating to the 2020-21 Playoffs," the league announced.
On Wednesday in a Zoom call with the media, McMillan, whose Hawks play the Knicks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, said the NBA wants New York in the playoffs. He said on the call that's the message he has delivered to his team.
"Absolutely, I've talked about that to the team a lot. Basically, I've gone as far as saying the league wants this," he said.