​Ziaire Williams is off to a fine start for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. The 25-year-old forward, who was signed to a one-year, $2.45 million contract this summer, won a starting job before the season started, and in three games thus far, he’s averaged 11.3 points in 28.3 minutes a game and is shooting 41.7% from 3-point range.In Sunday’s 132-123 comeback win over the Utah Jazz, Williams scored 11 points and hit three of his seven 3-point attempts. He is one of a number of Lakers’ players who are leading the team’s revitalized perimeter defense, but the NBA has fined him $2,000 for something he did during one defensive stand on Sunday.With under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter and L.A. down by one, Williams drew an offensive foul on Utah guard Keyonte George and sold it well. He did such a good job of selling that foul that the league deemed it flopping and has fined him $2,000 as a result.LAL’s Ziaire Williams was assessed a postgame Flopping fine of $2,000 upon league office review for https://t.co/gJPymw7mOP on Oct. 25 vs. UTA. Flopping is among the NBA’s Areas of Focus for the 2026-27 season.— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) October 27, 2026Regardless, Williams has done a nice overall job on the defensive end to start the season. He has a total of four steals and one block and is helping Los Angeles generate much more defensive pressure on the perimeter than it had in recent seasons.The team ranks only 19th in defensive rating coming into Tuesday, but it is fourth in opponents’ turnover percentage and first in points off turnovers per game. This is a major improvement compared to recent seasons, when the Lakers didn’t force that many turnovers and didn’t have the foot speed or the roster depth to truly capitalize on their opponents’ miscues.This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: Ziaire Williams has been fined by the NBA for an act in Sunday’s game