Hawks' Trae Young Jokes MSG Fans Weren't Happy to See Him at WWE SmackDown
Atlanta Hawks superstar guard Trae Young reflected Thursday on his recent appearance at Madison Square Garden in New York City for WWE SmackDown.
Young, who played a big role in the Hawks eliminating the New York Knicks in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season, received a ton of boos when he emerged from the curtain on SmackDown.
Regarding the special appearance, Young told GQ's Tres Dean:
"They wanted me to come out, show some 'love' to the crowd, and just have some fun. It was such a cool idea. I was a fan when I was a kid and my little brother watched it a bit, so he told me I had to do it when they called. The fans weren't too happy to see me but it was a cool experience."
Young was on the Sept. 10 edition of SmackDown as a special guest of Sami Zayn. As a villainous character, Zayn introduced Young to the MSG crowd, eliciting a hugely negative reaction.
Young was in the corner of the heel team comprised of Zayn, Apollo Crews, Otis, Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode in a 10-man tag team match against Big E, King Nakamura, Rick Boogs, Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio.
At one point, Young roughed up Rey while he was hung up on the ropes, leading to the referee ejecting him. That resulted in a massive ovation from the live crowd.
The babyface team of Big E, Nakamura, Boogs and The Mysterios then went on to win the match.
Young's appearance came across so well after he established himself as a villain to the MSG crowd during the playoffs, much like Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller did years earlier.
The 23-year-old Young averaged 29.2 points and 9.8 assists per contest in the five-game series win over the Knicks. He played up his role as the "bad guy" by gesturing toward Knicks fans at MSG, and he even got spit on by one of the fans during a game.
With Young leading the way, the fifth-seeded Hawks made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Young is poised to continue cementing himself as one of the top NBA players next season and beyond, and he may have a future in pro wrestling as well.
