Trae Young taunts Knicks fans with gesture, spit reference

Trae Young continued to spar with New York Knicks fans during Wednesday night’s game at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Young has gone back-and-forth with Knicks fans throughout his Atlanta Hawks’ first-round playoff series. He said after the Hawks’ Game 1 win that he enjoyed Knicks fans targeting him with vulgar chants. Young then was taunted in Game 2 by Knicks fans about balding.

That wasn’t all. Young was also spit at by a Knicks fan in Game 2.

So as his Hawks were looking to close out the series in Game 4 on Wednesday, Young mocked Knicks fans.

He shushed them with a “quiet” signal after making an impressive bucket in the fourth quarter.

Trae had to let MSG know after this bucket pic.twitter.com/7mO8bIrB2Y

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 3, 2021

He also teased a fan about spitting on him.

"Are you gonna spit on me next?"⁣ – Trae to the crowd. He didn’t forget

(via @MikeVorkunov) pic.twitter.com/wkkxOc6w0V

— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) June 3, 2021

The NBA went over a year without a large amount of fans at most games. Young is showing that having that antagonistic presence sometimes brings out the best in competitors, such as himself.