The Atlanta Hawks found themselves in a high-octane scoring battle against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in the NBA In-Season Tournament; Trae Young, in particular, had his best game of the 2023-24 season to this point. Not only did he score 38 points, which is his second-best scoring total of the season, he did so on his most efficient shooting night of the season as well, making 13 of his 17 field-goal attempts to mark the first time that he shot over 50 percent from the field in the new campaign.

Young's stellar scoring night, however, was not enough as the Hawks fell to the Pacers, 157-152, thanks in large part to an offensive clinic from Tyrese Haliburton. During a game where the first team to miss loses, Young felt especially hard done by the officiating, as he believes that he should have shot more than eight free throws on the night due to the Pacers' physicality.

“I shouldn't get fined for saying that we need to figure out what a real shooting foul is, not just picking it out 'cause it's me,” Young told reporters after the game, via Caleb Johnson of 92.9 The Game. “I still could've shot eight more free throws tonight on shooting fouls that they called on the floor and then they gave [Indiana] the same type of fouls.”

Some fans may roll their eyes towards Trae Young's statements. After all, the Hawks star, as it is, is already one of the best in the business when it comes to drawing fouls and capitalizing on the charity stripe. Young currently ranks third in the league in free throws made per game (only behind Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard), and in fact, his elite free-throw numbers are what is saving him from his horrendous efficiency from the field to begin the year.

But Young, who's listed at 6'1 and 164 lbs., definitely is using his lack of physicality to his advantage, as it appears as though teams are being more physical with him.

“I shoot free throws because guys are aggressive with me and I use their contact to my advantage, and their physicality to my advantage,” Young added.

Now, what NBA stars need is for officials to be consistent in determining whether or not a certain play is a foul, and Trae Young is wasting no time in making sure his voice is heard in this regard.