Trae Young is one of the best point guards in the NBA, and there’s no question that he’s an elite offensive engine. He is a capable scorer and playmaker, who can also score well from deep range. During the regular season, Trae Young averaged 28.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 9.7 APG.
One of the things that Trae Young is known for is his rivalry with the New York Knicks fanbase. In fact during the Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks series in 2021, Trae Young joked that he’s “obviously doing something right” if the fans actually hate him “that much”:
“I’ve always looked at it is I’m doing something right,” Young said on his postgame Zoom. “If I’m offending them with my play that they hate me that much, I’m obviously doing something right.
“I just got to let my play do the talking. At the end of the day, fans can only talk. They can’t guard me. They’re not out there playing.”
Recently, on an episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast with JJ Redick, Trae Young was asked about how he feels about New York Knicks fans trash-talking him. Trae Young pointed out that there are “certain guys” in the league that shouldn’t be trash-talked or heckled, and that he believes that he is “in that category”:
Trae Young on Knicks fans…. pic.twitter.com/iOWXPWVk3P
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) May 19, 2022
The Heat didn’t say nothing at all. In Miami, I think they just kept it business. I think there’s certain guys you shouldn’t talk to, just leave it alone. I feel like I’m one of those guys in that category.
There’s no question that some players draw fuel from opposing players trash-talking them, and Trae Young is definitely one of them. Some of his most iconic performances came in hostile environments where he was heckled by fans.
The Atlanta Hawks ended up getting eliminated in the first round by the Miami Heat, and there’s no doubt that this was a mediocre year for them considering the fact that they reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. Hopefully, we see the Hawks get further in the future, and there’s no question that Trae Young is a superstar that could potentially bring the Hawks to a championship.
