Tuesday night’s Play-In Tournament game against the Orlando Magic went poorly for the Atlanta Hawks. Things went even worse for Atlanta star Trae Young, who was ejected in the final minutes of the 120-95 loss. Young’s actions following the ejections will certainly earn him a fine — and were highly criticized by Brian Anderson, calling the game on TNT.
With under five minutes to go and the outcome no longer in doubt, Young stopped a ball that was being rolled to official Pat Fraher. He then pulled the way away from Fraher again. Following that, Young, who was already ejected, pretended to pass the ball to Fraher before dropping it on the ground on his way to the locker room.
Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young was ejected from Tuesday’s Play-In Tournament game against the Orlando Magic. pic.twitter.com/qIz1ZlAfRt
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) April 16, 2025
While looking at a replay of the exchange moments later, Anderson’s criticism of Young continued.
“That’s a bad look. No reason to do that,” Anderson said.
“He was already ejected and then he decided to give some money to the NBA on the way out the door,”color analyst Stan Van Gundy added. “I think that’s charitable of him. ‘Cause that’s where that money goes, to charity. So Trae said, ‘Let me give you a little bit more.'”
Anderson continued his criticism, noting the poor example that he felt Young was setting.
“That’s a bad look. No reason to do that.”
“He was already ejected and then he decided to give some money to the NBA on the way out the door. I think that’s charitable of him.”
Brian Anderson and Stan Van Gundy react to Trae Young’s actions after getting ejected. https://t.co/z2yydzIsAa pic.twitter.com/YpDU7SgRwc
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 16, 2025
“Problem I have with it, there’s a lot of kids watching,” Anderson replied. “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. Don’t dare do that.”
The good news for Young and the Hawks is that Tuesday’s loss didn’t end the season. They’ll play for the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed on Friday against the winner of Wednesday night’s game between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.
The bad news for Young? Regardless with whether you agree with Anderson and Van Gundy’s commentary, they’re right about one thing. Young’s actions on Tuesday will cost him some money.
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