Trae Young Fined $20,000 For Directing Inappropriate Language At Official

Trae Young has been fined $20,000 by the NBA for directing inappropriate language at an official, the league announced on Thursday. The incident came on the final possession of Wednesday's marquee matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks. With Atlanta on offense and down by only a single point, Young ran into a Willie Cauley-Stein screen and fell to the floor, essentially getting taken out of the play in the process. That forced Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari to take the final shot. He missed. 

Young was furious by the lack of a foul call, and approached an official immediately afterward. It is unclear what he said, but the NBA has deemed it worthy of a fine. 

The loss dropped Atlanta to 11-13, but the matchup itself is personal to Young. He was originally selected by the Mavericks in the 2018 NBA Draft, but was traded to the Hawks alongside the draft pick that would eventually become Cam Reddish in exchange for the draft rights to Luka Doncic, who is largely viewed as the superior player. 

Thursday was Atlanta's second loss to the Mavericks in February alone. Young has beaten Doncic head-to-head only once, in their first matchup against one another in 2018. Since then, Luka has dominated the matchup, which couldn't have helped Young as he dealt with yet another loss at the hands of the player he was once traded for. Now he'll have to pay up for letting his temper get the better of him.