Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet has been hit with a $30,000 fine for his tirade at NBA official Ben Taylor.
Taylor, who was calling the Wednesday game between the Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers, felt the wrath of VanVleet for his officiating of the match-up. The Raptors were beaten by 108 points to 100 to suffer a third defeat from their four games on the road in March.
VanVleet, 29, was called up for his first NBA All-Star game in 2022 and ranks in the top 20 for assists in the 2022-23 season. However, the hefty fine might not come as a huge surprise to a man who suggested he was ready to take a financial hit for his comments.
"Man, I don’t mind. I’ll take a fine, I don’t really care," VanVleet said after the defeat in Los Angeles. "I thought Ben Taylor was f****** terrible tonight.
"I thought that on most nights, out of the three [officials] there’s one or two that just f*** the game up. It’s been like that a couple games in a row. Denver was tough, obviously, and then you come out tonight, compete pretty hard and in the third quarter I get a bull**** tech [foul] - changed the whole dynamic and flow of the game.
"Most of the refs are trying hard, I like a lot of the refs. They’re pretty fair. They communicate well, and then you got the other ones who just want to be d**** and it just kind of f**** the game up. Nobody is coming to see that s***."
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In the 108-100 reverse, the Raptors were called for 23 fouls compared to 18 for their opponents. They also had just 14 free throw attempts, less than half of the Cllippers' total of 31.
VanVleet has been called for eight technical fouls this season, with three of those coming from Taylor. A fourth, meanwhile, was issued by a different official in a game where Taylor was also involved.
"They’re coming to see the players," the 29-year-old point guard said of NBA fans. "I think we’re losing a little bit of the fabric of what the NBA is and was. It’s been disappointing this season.
"You can look it up: most of my techs this year have been with Ben Taylor officiating, so at a certain point as a player, you feel it’s personal. It’s never a good place to be. It’s not why we lost tonight - we got outplayed - but it definitely makes it tougher to overcome."
The Raptors will stay in California for a Friday game against the Los Angeles Lakers before returning to Toronto for a trio of home games. They sit ninth overall in the Eastern Conference with 32 wins and 35 losses.
