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Hawks' Trae Young Received 1 Vote in Election for Mayor of New York City

Tim Daniels@@TimDanielsBRFeatured Columnist IVDecember 2, 2021

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 2: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks and Reggie Bullock #25 of the New York Knicks look on during Round 1, Game 5 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs on June 2, 2021 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.  NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE  (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young received one write-in vote in November's election for the next mayor of New York City, a race won by Democrat Eric Adams.

ESPN's Jeremy Willis reported Young was one of several sports figures to have their names placed on an NYC mayor ballot. Here were some of the others:

  • Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (nine votes)
  • Knicks forward Julius Randle (six)
  • Knicks forward RJ Barrett (three)
  • Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau (three)
  • Knicks guard Kemba Walker (one)
  • Nets guard Kyrie Irving (one)
  • Nets forward Kevin Durant (one)
  • Nets guard James Harden (one)

Winning the election as New York City's new mayor and removing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large-scale events would have been one way for Irving to resume his NBA career. He came up a couple hundred thousand votes short.

Meanwhile, Young has built an entertaining rivalry with Knicks fans, highlighted by the teams' first-round matchup in last season's playoffs.

The 23-year-old Texas native gestured to the Madison Square Garden crowd after hitting a game-winning shot in Game 1 of the series:

He then took a bow after scoring 36 points in Game 5 to eliminate the Knicks:

Young returned to MSG in September as a surprise guest of WWE wrestler Sami Zayn.

While the All-Star guard is probably too busy to handle the mayoral duties in the country's most populous city, his returns to The Garden have become must-see events.

The next one comes during the NBA's annual Christmas Day slate of games on Dec. 25.