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Trae Young trolls official following ejection, spat with Anthony Black

Chandler Vesselsby: Chandler Vessels04/16/25ChandlerVessels
trae young
Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young was ejected late in Tuesday’s NBA play-in game against the Orlando Magic. With 4:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, Young kicked the ball away from an official, resulting in his second technical of the evening and an automatic ejection.

Young’s first technical occured just moments earlier after he got into it with Magic guard Anthony Black. After Black appeared nudge the Hawks point guard into the crowd after a miss, Young responded on the next play by driving past him and nutmegged center Wendell Carter. Young then got a technical for taunting Black after the play.

As one offical picked up the ball and rolled it down court to another, Young kicked it away. Even after the official attempted to get it back, Young picked it up and held it away from him, leading to the second technical. You can view the moment below.

Atlanta was trailing by 20 points at the time and looking well on its way to a loss, so perhaps the sequence and circumstances of the game both to Young. TNT announcer Stan Van Gundy noted that Young likely earned an additional fine for his actions resulting in the second tech.

“He was already ejected and then he decided to give some money to the NBA on the way out the door,” Van Gundy said. “I think that’s charitable of him. Because that’s where that money goes. To charity. So Trae said, ‘Let me give you a little bit more.”

Van Gundy’s broadcast partner, Brian Anderson, responded by saying he had a problem with it because there were a lot of kids watching. Many of them look up to Young as a role model, and he argued he had a duty to play with more sportmanship.

“The problem I have with that is there’s a lot of kids watching,” he said. “There’s a lot of people watching. You don’t need to do that. And don’t do that, if you’re a player watching this.”

Orlando would go on to win by a score of 120-95, claiming the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they will play No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in a best-of-seven series. The Hawks now move on to face the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls for the right to earn the No. 8 seed.

Young finished the game with 28 points and eight assists but was just 8-of-21 shooting. The Hawks will next play Friday night in a win-or-go-home matchup.