Trae Young lost his cool and his place on the court late in the Atlanta Hawks’ play-in loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
The Hawks guard helped orchestrate a rally from a 22-point first-half deficit to get within three points in the third quarter. But the game slipped from Atlanta’s grasp in the fourth, and Young responded by taunting multiple referees. He threw the ball at one, then kicked it away from another, earning two quick technical fouls and an ejection.
Hawks, Young melt down
The game was out of hand when Young got tossed. Young nutmegged Wendell Carter Jr., then scored a meaningless layup that cut Orlando’s lead to 107-87 with 4:50 remaining. Young then fired the ball at referee James Williams on the baseline, earning a quick technical foul.
Williams then advanced the dead ball into the front court to referee Pat Fraher for the Magic’s technical foul shot. But Young intercepted the pass and kicked it toward the sideline away from Fraher.
This, of course, drew Young’s second technical and an ejection.
Trae Young goes between Carter’s legs and is ejected FOR back-to-back technical fouls. pic.twitter.com/JZ3UfLprxd
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) April 16, 2025
But Young wasn’t done. He picked up the ball and faked passing it to Fraher before playing keep-away with a crossover dribble. He then finally conceded his ejection by dropping the ball behind him on his way to the tunnel.
Video from the TNT broadcast partially tells the story. But it’s obscured by replay breakaways. Uninterrupted video from a fan in the nosebleeds paints the full picture.
TRAE YOUNG HAS BEEN EJECTED FROM THE GAME AFTER HITTING A NASTY NUTMEG 😭 pic.twitter.com/NH3I6E4P8h
— Playmaker (@playmaker) April 16, 2025
Young was walking down court after his first technical, then jumped to kick the ball away from Fraher as soon as he saw it coming in his direction.
Ref: Young made ‘a mockery of the game’
Both technicals were obviously warranted. But just in case it wasn’t clear, Williams offered some clarification on why they were issued in a postgame interview with a pool reporter.
“Trae Young received his first unsportsmanlike technical foul for throwing the ball at a game official,” Williams said.
As for the second?
“He received his second unsportsmanlike technical foul for kicking the ball away and making a mockery of the game as we were attempting to shoot the free throw for the first technical foul, and by rule when the player receives two unsportsmanlike fouls he’s ejected from the game,” Williams continued.
A “mockery of the game.” That’s a succinct assessment.
The Magic went on to a 120-95 win to secure the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks have one last chance to earn a playoff bid in an elimination game Friday. They’ll take on the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the Bulls and Heat with the No. 8 seed at stake. The loser’s season will be over.
Young, Quin Snyder respond
That means Young has at least one more game with stakes left to play this season, assuming he doesn’t come away from Tuesday’s incident with a suspension. Here’s what he had to say postgame about his ejection and moving forward from it:
“I told him I was sticking up for the squad, and I’m not gonna let the refs frustrate me like that in our next game,” Young said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I know we gotta win or go home next game, and I’m gonna be ready.”
It’s not clear who “him” is in this instance. But Young knows the assignment.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said Young addressed the situation with his teammates.
“He’s quick to own that,” Snyder said. “But the game was out of hand at that point.
“But again, this is playoff basketball, there’s going to be adversity. We have to continue to handle it in a way that can power through some of that.”
Trae Young lost his cool and his place on the court late in Atlanta’s play-in loss to the Orlando Magic Tuesday night.
The Hawks guard helped orchestrate a rally from a 22-point first-half deficit to get within three points in the third quarter. But the game slipped from Atlanta’s grasp in the fourth, and Young responded by taunting multiple referees. He threw the ball at one, then kicked it away from another, earning two quick technical fouls and an ejection.
The game was out of hand when Young got tossed. Young nutmegged Wendell Carter Jr., then scored a meaningless layup that cut Orlando’s lead to 107-87 with 4:50 remaining. Young then fired the ball at referee James Williams on the baseline, earning a quick technical foul.
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Williams then advanced the dead ball into the front court to referee Pat Fraher for the Magic’s technical foul shot. But Young intercepted the pass and kicked it toward the sideline away from Fraher.
This, of course drew Young’s second technical and an ejection.
But Young wasn’t done. He picked up the ball and faked passing it to Fraher before playing keep-away with a crossover dribble. He then finally conceded his ejection by dropping the ball behind him on his way to the tunnel.
Video from the TNT story partially tells the story. But it’s obscured by replay breakaways. Uninterrupted video from a fan in the nosebleeds paints the full picture.
Young was walking down court after his first technical, then jumped to kick the ball away from Fraher as soon as he saw it coming in his direction.
Both technicals were obviously warranted. But just in case it wasn’t clear, Williams offered some clarification on why they were issued in a postgame interview with a pool reporter.
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“Trae Young received his first unsportsmanlike technical foul for throwing the ball at a game official,” Williams said.
As for the second?
“He received his second unsportsmanlike technical foul for kicking the ball away and making a mockery of the game as we were attempting to shoot the free throw for the first technical foul and by rule when the player receives two unsportsmanlike fouls he’s ejected from the game,” Williams continued.
A “mockery of the game.” That’s a succinct assessment.
The Magic went on to a 120-95 win to secure the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks have one last chance to earn a playoff bid in an elimination game on Friday. They’ll take on the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the Bulls and Heat with the No. 8 seed at stake. The loser’s season will be over.
That means that Young has at least one more game with stakes left to play this season, assuming that he doesn’t come away from Tuesday’s incident with a suspension. Here’s what he had to say postgame about his ejection and moving forward from it:
“I told him I was sticking up for the squad, and I’m not gonna let the refs frustrate me like that in our next game,” Young said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I know we gotta win or go home next game and I’m gonna be ready.”
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It’s not clear who “him” is in this instance. But Young knows the assignment.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said that Young addressed the situation with his teammates.
“He’s quick to own that,” Snyder said. “But the game was out of hand at that point.
“But again, this is playoff basketball, there’s going to be adversity. We have to continue to handle it in a way that can power through some of that.”
