Trae Young, despite not facing the New York Knicks during the current postseason run, managed to find a way to provoke his familiar adversaries.
During Sunday`s game (presumably a significant playoff matchup), the Atlanta Hawks guard utilized the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to subtly mock Knicks supporters. He commented on the loudness of Oklahoma City Thunder fans, contrasting them with the New York fanbase, with whom Young has a well-documented history of contentious exchanges.
The rivalry between Young, a former Oklahoma Sooners standout, and the Knicks organization has been prominent since the 2021 NBA playoffs.
In that first-round series, Atlanta eliminated New York in five games. A memorable moment saw Young taking a bow after securing the series-clinching win in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. The teams met again on Christmas Day the following season, where anti-Young chants were heard during a Knicks victory, despite the All-Star guard being sidelined.
More recently, after the Hawks defeated the Knicks in an NBA Emirates Cup quarterfinal game that sent them to Las Vegas, Young again taunted the home crowd by mimicking `rolling the dice` at the center court of Madison Square Garden.
This season, New York held a 3-2 advantage in the regular-season series against Atlanta. The Hawks, including Young, failed to qualify for the playoffs after losing both of their play-in tournament games, while the Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.