Trae Young Gives Brutally Honest Statement About His Ejection vs Orlando

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It was not a fun night for Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. Atlanta trailed only by six going into the fourth quarter of the NBA play-in Tournament game, but things spiraled out of control in the fourth quarter and Atlanta eventually ended up losing 120-95. In the fourth quarter of the game, with the Hawks trailing by 20 points, point guard Trae Young was ejected after getting consecutive technical fouls with 4:47 left.
Trae has been ejected from the play-in game after picking up his 2nd technical 😅 pic.twitter.com/ow9ROW9ULS
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 16, 2025
Today after the Hawks wrapped up practice, Young had a chance to address the ejection and he was pretty honest about how he felt about what transpired and if he had any regret:
"Nah, I am just a competitive dude, passionate, I don't really care about what other people think about me, I just care about my teammates, the coaches, the fans, obviously what they think about me around here. But I am a competitive person, the same way that I have been since I was in elementary school, I am the same way now. I mean there are some conversations after the game where the refs were making a mockery of the game, that is a little different when it comes to that. That is in the past and I am focused on the Heat now."
Asked Trae Young if there was any regret for his ejection Tuesday given narratives can be made on his character.
— Caleb Johnson (@ATLjohnson18) April 17, 2025
Young says some of the refs conversations were “making a mockery of the game” pic.twitter.com/rrrsAQL2z8
After the game, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said that Young addressed the team:
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said that Trae Young addressed the need for keeping his cool with the team already.
— Lauren L. Williams (@WilliamsLaurenL) April 16, 2025
More on what Snyder had to say post-game:
"He's quick to own that. But the game was out of hand at that point. But again, this is playoff basketball, there's going to be adversity. We have to continue to handle it in a way that can power through some of that."
Young also addressed it after the game:
"I told him I was sticking up for the squad, and I'm not gonna let the refs frustrate me like that in our next game. I know we gotta win or go home next game and I'm gonna be ready."
Atlanta's season is going to depend on the outcome of their game vs the Miami Heat on Friday.
When it comes to Miami, the Hawks are 2-2 this season against the Heat and Atlanta has faced this version of the Heat three times already. Three of the four matchups against Miami have come since the trade deadline, when the Heat moved star forward Jimmy Butler, and the Hawks are 1-2 against the version of Miami. They won an ugly 98-86 game in February, but lost by 22 and 12 in the other two games. If you want to get a sense of Atlanta's struggles on defense with their front-court injuries, they allowed Miami to shoot 55% in both of the most recent losses to the Heat. Miami is not one of the better offensive teams in the league, and it is similar to Orlando. However, Miami is always a strong defensive team under Erik Spoelstra, and that could pose the Hawks problems.
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Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell
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