Trae Young had a postseason debut for the ages when the Atlanta Hawks defeated the New York Knicks in five games during last season’s opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Knicks headed into the series with homecourt advantage as the NBA’s most pleasant surprise, but Young ruined the good vibes from the moment he took the floor at Madison Square Garden.
Young didn’t just destroy the Knicks — he averaged 29.2 points and 9.8 assists per game for the series — he got under the skin of New Yorkers like no player since Reggie Miller. As Knicks fans chanted “F—- Trae Young” whenever he took the floor at Madison Square Garden, Young shined in the villain role, slicing apart Tom Thibodeau’s defense in ways his team had not seen all year. It isn’t an exaggeration to say the Knicks haven’t been the same since.
Young came to Madison Square Garden again on Wednesday, this time under totally different circumstances. The Knicks are again bound for the lottery this season. Young’s Hawks aren’t much better after a conference finals run last season, but they will at least make the play-in tournament. In many ways, a late March regular season matchup between Young and the Knicks at MSG felt like the last thing to truly look forward to for both teams and fan bases this season.
Young didn’t disappoint. He finished with 45 points and eight assists on 7-of-15 shooting from three-point range, as the Hawks won 117-111. He did it with the type of flair that only the Big Apple can bring out of him.
With the Knicks clinging to hope late, Young saved his dirtiest move for last. He got Knicks veteran big man Taj Gibson on a switch, lulled him to sleep with a crossover, and then exploded toward the basket and into his midrange jumper.
Gibson crashed to the floor with his ankles full snatched. This was just rude.
Somehow, it wasn’t Young’s most disrespectful moment of the night. During one point in the game, Young walked to Knicks fans sitting courtside, stuck out his index finger and his thumb, and told the MSG faithful to “hold this L.”
Thankfully this was captured for all eternity.
Is there any current player more antagonistic to a fan base than Trey Young v New Yorkers? Got heckled all night but didn’t forget about it. Lonce the game was out of reach came back and told the man to “hold that L” pic.twitter.com/J242dhcqfE
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) March 23, 2022
Young also taunted Knicks fans after the game. Hey New York — Trae can’t hear your boos and chants over all these buckets.
“It wasn’t even that loud to be honest with you.” – Trae Young on MSG Lmao
— Josh Eberley (@JoshEberley) March 23, 2022
The Knicks and Hawks are probably the two most disappointing teams in the East this season. Young will take solace in the fact that the Knicks are a league-wide joke again. Knicks fans will enjoy that Young and the Hawks aren’t much better than they are.
Young and the Knicks just seem destined to be intertwined. We can’t wait until they play again.