Hawks’ Trae Young fined $15,000 by NBA for making contact with a game official

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young is now a little lighter in the pocket. On Friday, the NBA hit Young with a $15,000 fine for making contact with an official during Atlanta’s loss to the Wizards on Thursday night. The contact occurred during the second quarter of the contest. 

Here’s the official statement from the league: 

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been fined $15,000 for making contact with a game official, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations. The incident occurred with 6:41 remaining in the second quarter of Atlanta’s 122-111 loss to the Washington Wizards on Oct. 28, 2021 at Capital One Arena. 

Young appeared to bump into a referee on the baseline as he turned around to head up the court after Atlanta scored a basket. You can see the play where the contact occurred below: 

The contact wasn’t especially egregious, but players aren’t supposed to make contact with the officials at all, so Young will have to pay for his actions. After Atlanta’s loss to Washington, Young also expressed some frustration about how games are being called this season following some offseason tweaks to the rules that discourage offensive players from seeking out contact. 

 “I don’t want to get fined too much, but it’s frustrating,” Young said. “There’s a lot of missed calls. It’s basketball. It’s just, it feels that they’re learning, and they’re just — I don’t know. It’s frustrating.”

“You can watch basketball. Damian Lillard’s never averaged 17 points probably since his rookie year,” Young added. “There’s a couple guys. I mean, [Devin Booker] is averaging 18. There’s a lot of things that, when guys are driving straight and guys are getting knocked off balance — it’s still a foul, whether they’re using their lower body or their hands.”  

Clearly, the new rules will take some getting used to for Young and other players across the league’s landscape, but they’ve certainly made for a more pleasant viewing experience early on this season.