Chicago guard Dwyane Wade has apologised after being fined $US25,000 ($A33,000) by the NBA for making a throat slashing gesture after hitting a late three-pointer in his Bulls debut.
Wade got the ball in the corner, took a dribble to his left and stepped back for the three-pointer on Thursday night.
He made the gesture after the ball swished through the net, and then jumped around as the crowd roared.
Wade finished with 22 points in the Bulls' 105-99 home victory over the Boston Celtics.
"I wanna apologise to my young fans on my gesture at the end of last nights game. I was caught up in the emotions of my first game at home," Wade wrote on Twitter.
"To be able to make a shot like that and helps us get this win, it's like the perfect storm," Wade said after the game.
"When I released it, I'm not going to say I knew it was going in, because anything could happen, but I felt very good about the shot, and there was just a lot of emotion running through me. I had an out-of-body experience after that."
Wade, 34, signed by the Bulls over the summer to two-year deal worth about $US47 million ($A62 million) in a move that stunned the Miami Heat, has spoken out multiple times about wanting to cut down on the violence in his hometown.
Wade played 13 seasons in Miami, scoring more than 20,000 points and getting selected to 12 All-Star teams.
Golden State Warriors star forward Kevin Durant was fined $US25,000 by the NBA in April 2013 for a throat-slash gesture when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
