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Trae Young Pranked Knicks Fan With Funny Fake-Out After Beating Knicks at MSG

What a night for Young.

Kyle Koster

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) brings the ball up court against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden.
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) brings the ball up court against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Lifelong New York Knicks fans who have always wanted to see their team capture an NBA Cup will have to wait at least another year as the Atlanta Hawks came into Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night to grab one of the final spots in Las Vegas. Trae Young created some more memorable Mecca moments by scoring 22 points and then rolling dice on the Knicks' midcourt logo.

Like any good wrestling heel, Young worked the disappointed and vocal crowd on this way to the locker room, at one point pretending he was going to dap up a fan only to pull his hand away at the last minute.

Look, Knicks fans don't have to like it and they shouldn't like it but that's exactly how you have to do Madison Square Garden as an opposing player if you win. The opportunity to be the main character at that arena and raise rankles in all five boroughs doesn't come around enough so it must be maximized.

There's a real chance Young and the Hawks will find themselves back there come playoff time and he's setting the stage for even greater theater down the road. This league indeed.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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