Sydney Kings guard Dejan Vasiljevic received death threats after steering his team to victory in game two of the NBL grand final.
The Kings beat the NBL’s new kid on the block, Tasmania Jackjumpers, 90-86 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Vasiljevic hit a decisive three-pointer late in the piece, and celebrated accordingly by beating his chest at the 5000-strong Tasmanian crowd.
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“That’s probably the best away atmosphere I’ve played in all year,” Vasiljevic told SEN radio afterwards.
“It was sold out and there were just under 5000 people yelling. I probably took it a little too far with the taunting at the end.
“When fans are starting to talk crap to you and saying personal things to you, you have just got to tell them to be quiet and then enjoy the moment.
“When you take things a little too personal, then that kind of gets on my nerves.”
The crowd didn’t take too kindly to Vasiljevic’s celebrations.
Kings players were reportedly abused verbally as they walked off the court, and Vasiljevic himself later logged on to social media to find serious threats directed at him.
“There were personal jibes and jabs after the game. There were people sliding into my (direct messages) who were sending death threats,” he said.
“That’s the life of a professional athlete. We perform and we are able to just walk away from stuff like that.
“I’ll just delete the message, laugh at it and go about my business.”
The third game of the NBL final series is at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday.
The Kings will win the title if they beat the Jackjumpers in game three.
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