Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet was not having any of it following Wednesday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Toronto was called for 23 fouls compared to 18 for the Clippers. Los Angeles shot 17 more free throws than the Raptors, too.
Following the 108-100 loss, VanVleet took aim at the officiating in Southern California. In particular, he pointed a finger at official Ben Taylor in an expletive-laden rant from the podium post-game.
“I don’t mind, I’ll take a fine, I don’t really care. I thought Ben Taylor was f**king terrible tonight. I think that on most nights, you know, out of the three (referees), there’s one or two that just f**k the game up. It’s been like that a couple of games in a row. Denver was tough, obviously.”
Fred VanVleet on Wednesday night’s officiating
Well, VanVleet’s prediction of a fine came to fruition. The NBA announced Thursday evening that the star guard has been fined a whopping $30,000.
Typically, the limit is a $35,000 fine for criticizing officiating. It’s somewhat surprising given what VanVleet had to say. He was also nowhere near close to done ranting about officiating Wednesday evening.
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“Most of the refs are trying hard. I like a lot of the refs, they’re trying hard, they’re pretty fair, they communicate well. And then you got the other ones who just want to be d—s and it just kind of f—s the game up,” VanVleet told reporters. “Nobody’s coming to see that s**t. They come to see the players. I think we’re losing a little bit of the fabric of what the NBA is and was.”
To be fair, VanVleet and the Raptors are in the midst of a down season that has them at 32-35 and as the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. The impending free agent has also struggled more than previous seasons.
- Fred VanVleet stats (2022-23): 19.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 6.9 APG, 39% shooting, 34% 3-point
That certainly doesn’t excuse what VanVleet had to see. But frustration is starting to boil over big time for the veteran.