Trae Young doesn’t seem like he will be losing his enemy No. 1 status at Madison Square Garden anytime soon.
As the Hawks star dribbled out the clock in Atlanta’s 108-100 NBA Cup quarterfinal win over the Knicks on Wednesday night, he had some fun at the mid-court logo under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden — with his eyes set on Nevada.
Young entrenched himself as a villain in the eyes of New York fans as he stopped at the Knicks logo and picked up and rolled face dice as if he were playing craps in Las Vegas, which is where the Hawks will be playing this weekend in the tournament’s semifinals.
“It’s [a] love-hate relationship. I got a lot of love and a lot of hate I guess from them, but I got a lot love from them too. It’s respect,” Young said on the court with ESPN following the win.
Trae Young trolled the Knicks on Wednesday night after the Hawks’ NBA Cup win.
Jalen Brunson said after the game that Young’s trolling never would have happened had the outcome been different.
“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” he said.
The rivalry between Young and New York began in earnest during the 2021 playoffs, when the two teams battled it out — with the Hawks winning the series, 4-1 — and Knicks fans began to use the chant “F–k Trae Young.”
That series reached a crescendo when Young ripped off 36 points in the deciding Game 5 at The Garden, taking a bow late in the contest after drilling a deep 3.
Young killed the Knicks that series, averaging over 29 points.
The Atlanta guard solidified his arch-nemesis status earlier this season when he led his Hakws to a November win over the Knicks at State Farm Arena, which had plenty of Knicks fans in the crowd.
“I hope these New York fans find their way to the exit real, real quick,” Young said during a postgame interview with a laugh. “Boo, take y’all ᴀss home.”
Young’s play ensured another Hawks win on Wednesday, as he knocked down a game-high 22 points with 11 ᴀssists and five rebounds.
