Trae Young is hearing it this week from the mayor of New York City.
The New York Knicks are set to face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. With the Knicks earning the No. 3 seed and the Hawks getting No. 6, the two sides will begin a best-of-seven series on Saturday in New York.
Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani was asked about the high cost of playoff tickets for the game at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Mamdani responded by taking a swipe at former Hawks star Trae Young.
“I would say that I blame Trae Young,” replied Mamdani. “And I think it’s always important to blame Trae Young.” Here is the full clip of Mamdani’s remarks.
Zohran Mamdani, when asked about the high cost of Knicks playoff tickets vs Atlanta: "I would say that I blame Trae Young… and I think it's always important to blame Trae Young"
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 16, 2026
Via: https://t.co/E7EN07I2QX pic.twitter.com/4YG37kvdD1
Young is not even with the Hawks anymore after being traded to the Washington Wizards at the February trade deadline. But he still did more than enough during his time in Atlanta to create a rivalry between the Hawks and the Knicks (and also become Public Enemy No. 1 in New York).
Most notably, Young led the Hawks to a first-round playoff series victory over the Knicks in 2021 and openly taunted the MSG crowd over the course of that series. Even in more recent years, Young had still been pulling disrespectful moves on the Knicks.
The four-time All-Star Young will obviously not be taking part in this year’s playoff series between the Hawks and the Knicks. But plenty of New Yorkers, including the Democratic mayor Mamdani, still loathe Young for what he did to their city in the past.
