Trae Young: Madison Square Garden 'Wasn't Even That Loud' in Hawks' Win vs. Knicks

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young continues to build goodwill in New York City.

After dropping 45 points in a 117-111 win over the New York Knicks, Young commented in a postgame interview that Madison Square Garden "wasn't even that loud, to be honest with you."

It's no secret the two-time All-Star relishes every trip to the Garden.

In terms of active NBA players, he made himself Public Enemy No. 1 the moment he took a bow at halfcourt as the Hawks were on the verge of eliminating the Knicks from the 2021 playoffs.

Young equated his gesture to the culmination of a Broadway performance, and he later explained to ESPN's Tim MacMahon he came up with the idea well beforehand.

"Heading into it, I knew what I was going to do," he said. "If I had a moment to do that, I was going to take advantage of it. I knew ahead of time what I was going to do."

Even when he doesn't play at MSG, Young isn't content to let Knicks fans have the last word. He was absent for Atlanta's Christmas Day loss to New York, but he obviously heard the loud "f--k Trae Young" chants reverberate through the arena.

And we might have former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to thank for taking this thing to the next level.

It's not as if Young was a beloved figure among Knicks fans as the 2021 postseason got underway, so the rivalry was already well underway. But de Blasio's comment last May that Young should "stop hunting for fouls" unleashed something different with the dynamic guard.

"Knicks fans want to be mad at me, they're really mad at the wrong person," Young said to Complex's Adam Caparell in February. "They should be talking to the mayor. He started a lot of the stuff."