LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Victor Wembanyama was fined $25,000 by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Sunday for throwing the game ball to fans after his San Antonio Spurs' epic 130-126 overtime victory over the New York Knicks.

Wembanyama, 20, scored 40 points and pulled down 20 rebounds in a remarkable performance on Friday that helped the Spurs withstand Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson's 61-point outburst.

The victory was sealed when Wembanyama came up with a steal in the final second.

He briefly hugged the ball to his chest then threw it to fans at San Antonio's Frost Bank Center.

Asked after the game if he'd be prepared to make up for the cost of the lost ball, Wembanyama jokes: "somebody else is going to."

But NBA rules bar deliberately throwing or kicking the ball into the stands and the French phenomenon, who is favored to earn Rookie of the Year honors added another first in his NBA career — his first fine.