Aaron Rodgers has only been an official New Yorker for a few days, but he is already getting trash-talked.
The newly-acquired New York Jets quarterback Rodgers was in attendance at Madison Square Garden on Sunday for the New York Knicks’ second-round playoff series opener against the Miami Heat.
Aaron Rodgers at the Knicks game pic.twitter.com/vow52WMmkF
— Knicks Memes (@KnicksMemes) April 30, 2023
But despite Rodgers’ presence, it didn’t go according to plan for the Knicks. They lost to the Heat 108-101 to surrender their homecourt advantage in the series. Miami got big performances out of Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, but Kevin Love also made some impactful plays for the Heat in the second half.
After the game, Love said that he went up to the courtside-sitting Rodgers with some smack talk.
“I told Aaron Rodgers, ‘I’ve got the best QBR in New York City,’” said Love, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
What was Love referencing there? In the third quarter, Love threw a trio of crisp long-range outlet passes, all of which resulted in transition buckets for Miami. That helped the Heat take control of what had been a tight game to that point.
Kevin Love outlet passes x 3. pic.twitter.com/hcHisH5PJ0
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) April 30, 2023
Love, who has been famed for those Unseld-esque outlets throughout his career, finished with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists in Miami’s win. But it is probably all love (no pun intended) between him and Rodgers, both of whom played in the Pac-10 in college (Love at UCLA and Rodgers at UC Berkeley).
In any case, Rodgers is already doing a good job of endearing himself to the New York community (between going to Knicks games and showing respect to the local legends).
