"You a b*tch" - Fred VanVleet channels his inner Kelly Oubre as he goes in on NBA ref after frustrating night vs Blazers

Fred VanVleet of the Houston Rockets was ejected late in their 104-98 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. VanVleet was frustrated with an offensive foul call and went in on the referee. He fired back an expletive and even pointed a finger on the official's face, in what can be described as a Kelly Oubre-esque rant.

With the Rockets down 103-98, VanVleet was called for an offensive foul that essentially sealed the Blazers' win. He was unhappy with it and directly called referee John Conley a "b*tch." He was so upset that he pointed at Conley's face and repeated what he said.

VanVleet was ejected for his action before an assistant coach intervened to avoid an altercation between the player and the official. Anfernee Simons hit the technical free throw to give Portland the victory.

"You're a b*tch," VanVleet said to the referee.

Last season, Kelly Oubre Jr. went viral after a heated outburst at the referees after a botched call handed the 76ers defeat against the Clippers. Although the league fined him for the outburst, he later apologized to the referees.

Due to his behavior, the NBA will likely fine Fred VanVleet, who had a frustrating night shooting the ball. FVV finished the game with just eight points, five rebounds and five assists. He shot 4-for-13 and missed all of his six attempts from beyond the arc.

---

Fred VanVleet has a history with NBA referees

Fred VanVleet has a history with NBA referees. (Photo: IMAGN)

Saturday's incident with referee John Conley was not the first time Fred VanVleet expressed his frustration about officiating. VanVleet went off on Ben Taylor and the rest of the crew back in March 2023 when he was still with the Toronto Raptors.

The one-time NBA champ was not happy after the Raptors' 108-100 defeat to the LA Clippers, so he criticized them publicly. He knew that he'd get fined by the NBA, but he wanted to be heard.

"I'll take the fine, I don't really care," VanVleet said, according to NBA.com. "I thought Ben Taylor was terrible tonight. I think that most nights, you know out of the three, there's one or two that just (mess) the game up. ... You come out tonight, competing pretty hard and I get a (lousy) tech that changes the whole dynamic of the game, changed the whole flow of the game."

The league fined VanVleet $30,000 for his tirade against the officials. He felt back then that things were personal with Taylor, who has called three technical fouls on him during his career.

---

NBA might have punished referee after Fred VanVleet rant

While the league fined Fred VanVleet in 2023 and will likely do the same in the coming days, the NBA heard his criticism and possibly punished referee Ben Taylor.

SportsNet's Tom Haberstroh reported more than a week after the rant that Taylor's duties as the crew chief were reduced.

Taylor went from being a crew chief in four of five games to just one in five after the incident. It's unclear if it was a punishment from the NBA, but it was an interesting development at the time.