Trae Young has plenty of experience when it comes to playing in hostile environments, thanks to the “villain” tag that has stuck with him for years. On Young’s recent appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, he was asked what’s the roughest arena for him to play in, and the 25-year-old named three cities.
“I mean, Philly. Philly’s definitely a rough place to play,” Young said. “… Probably Philly or Boston. I think those northeast cities, with New York in there too. Them three cities are probably the three loudest cities and feel like the most college environment type of cities.”
I’d think a lot of players, especially those who play for teams in the Eastern Conference, would go with those cities. The fans are very loud and as Young pointed out, you get a college-type feel. The Atlanta Hawks star has certainly experienced the worst of it too.
Young became somewhat of a villain in Philadelphia during the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Hawks were massive underdogs in that series against the 76ers, but their star guard helped them pull off a stunning triumph in seven games. After the series, Young stated he loved the s*** talking from 76ers fans.
As for Boston, well, Young was showered with “overrated” chants at TD Garden in Game 2 in the first round of the playoffs last year.
Unfortunately for Young, he didn’t get the last laugh against those Boston Celtics fans. While he would go on to hit an incredible game-winner in Game 5 in Boston, the Celtics eventually beat the Hawks in six games.
Lastly, we get to the Young and New York Knicks fans, and their history is well-documented. It was again during the 2021 playoffs, that he became public enemy No. 1 for Knicks fans.
Chants of ‘F*** Trae Young’ broke out in Game 1 itself in that first round series and Young responded by drilling the game-winner and telling the crowd to be quiet. Then in the closeout game, he bowed to the crowd after hitting the dagger three-pointer and Knicks fans have never forgotten that.
Even three years later, Young remains such a disliked figure in New York, that ‘F*** Trae Young’ chants broke out after Game 1 between the Knicks and the 76ers in this past postseason. It’s become somewhat of a tradition now in New York to bring out that chant from time to time.
Trae Young Admitted It Isn’t Fun Being The Villain
While Young has thrived in hostile environments, he isn’t too happy about the “villain” label that has stuck with him. Young admitted it isn’t fun being the villain.
“S**t ain’t really fun being a villain. I don’t dive into that. I kind of feed off the crowd. If you were listening to the game, 10 minutes left in the quarter of Game 1, the whole arena was yelling “F*** Trae Young”. What do you want me to do? I’m just hooping. I’m playing. I ain’t say nothing to the crowd… I come out playing, trying to win, trying to put on a show… I really just feed off of the crowd.”
While I have some sympathy for Young, he does try to rile up the fans at times. A lot of NBA players just tend to block out the noise from opposing fans, but the three-time All-Star never passes up on a chance to go back at them. It’s why Young has that label I don’t see him losing it anytime soon either.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
