Fred VanVleet is no stranger Furious at NBA officialsHowever, towards the end of the match, he got into an argument with the referee. houston rocketsLost 104-98 portland trail blazers It was extreme even by his standards.
It's not immediately clear what VanVleet was so upset about, but eagle-eyed lip readers online noticed him calling the umpire “a b—-” and nearly poking the umpire in the eye. By the way, I think I found it. — While being ejected with 4.1 seconds left in the game on Saturday night:
Fortunately for VanVleet, his seemingly avoidable suspension didn't last as long as it appeared in the initial footage, and from a different angle, it was clear that he was caught with crew referee John Conley. It was revealed that he had narrowly avoided contact with the police. for a while:
Fred VanVleet just got 100% off his suspension at the end of this game…
I told the referee, “You're terrible, you pointed your finger in my face.'' pic.twitter.com/iNjLJ3EFeg
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) November 24, 2024
This is the most expletive-filled eruption caught on camera between a player and a referee in memory since Kelly Oubre insulted the entire pedigree of referees last March. And considering VanVleet almost made contact with the referee as well…it looks like he's up to it. If he misses at least a few games for the 12-6 Rockets, he will face a hefty fine.
But to be fair to VanVleet, the NBA may have made him think this move could have a positive outcome. In 2023, VanVleet was fined $30,000. For calling referee Ben Taylor “terrible”. That might not sound good on the surface…until you realize that after VanVleet's outburst, the NBA stopped giving Taylor crew chief assignments, unofficially demoting him.
So it's clear that VanVleet will be fined again here (at least), but if that results in Conley facing a similar outcome to nemesis Taylor…the Rockets guard might be happy with that trade-off. do not have.
