Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet has been fined $50K for “confronting and directing profane language” toward the referees in Saturday’s loss to Portland, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Upset about the officiating in the game, VanVleet committed a frustration foul with just over four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the Rockets trailing by five points.

He then yelled “you suck” toward each of the game’s three referees before walking over to official John Conley, and jabbing a finger toward his face while directing a profane insult toward him (Bluesky video link). VanVleet was immediately assessed with a technical foul and ejected from the game.

If VanVleet had made contact with Conley, he almost certainly would’ve been facing a suspension. He still got off relatively lightly, given that this isn’t his first fine for an incident with officials. In March 2023, the veteran guard singled out and ripped referee Ben Taylor at length during a post-game press conference, earning a $30K fine.

At the time VanVleet received that $30K penalty, the maximum fine the NBA could have levied was $50K. That maximum has increased to $100K under the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, so the league could have gone higher in this case.