Knicks fans have held a grudge against Trae Young since the 2021 NBA playoffs. Facing the Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Young led Atlanta past New York in a memorable fashion. Since then, the infamous “F**k Trae Young” chants have reverberated through Madison Square Garden.
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When asked recently how he felt about the animosity in NYC, Young couldn’t help but laugh, finding the whole situation amusing. During an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, the host asked Trae about the hate Knicks fans have against him. The All-Star guard said in response,
“Oh, [the hate is] super funny. That sh*t is hilarious. I’ll never forget this young little girl, like 10, if I had to guess maybe 10 to 12, giving me the finger, like, right behind the scorer’s table. And I’m looking at her dad. I don’t say nothing to her, I just look at her dad and I’m like, ‘That’s cool.’”
Young and the Hawks had no problems taking care of the New York Knicks in the first round. The series ended 4-1, with Young taking a bow in front of the crowd at MSG and Atlanta advancing to the second round.
However, he still remembers incidents from that series. For instance, watching the young girl giving him the finger while her father stood right next to her. Young was surprised with how her father allowed such behaviour. But he kept it to himself and just smiled it off.
“There’s a lot of photos of me looking in the crowd just smiling. That’s like, kinda my reactions, like, I’m just looking at the reactions of like, all these people just flipping me off.”
The Knicks finished 4th in the Eastern Conference, a spot above the Hawks. Many believed the Knicks would cruise past Atlanta. However, that wasn’t the case. After losing Game 1, NY came back to win Game 2.
Hopes were high and fans filled up in The Big Apple, expecting the Knicks to return to their glory days. Unfortunately for Knicks fans, Trae and the Hawks had something else in mind.
Young helped his team easily cruise past the Knicks as they defeated them in five games to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers. And the rest is history.
