The New York Knicks vastly improved their fortunes this season. After hiring head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks went on a fantastic run this season, securing the fourth seed in the East, their best finish in years.
But the fairytale ended there for New York. The Knicks lost in 5 games to the Atlanta Hawks, thanks to the performances of Trae Young. Young took over the mantle of 'Madison Square Garden villain', as he taunted the crowd with his excellent performances and sent the Knicks packing.
Trae emerged as a superstar during the NBA playoffs, helping the Hawks reach the Eastern Conference Finals while overcoming two higher-seeded teams in the process. On top of that, he looked extremely comfortable taking on the antagonist role against these teams, especially New York.
Young got under the skin of Knicks fans, so much so that one courtside fan even spit on him during a game, and the entire arena made signs saying 'Trae is balding' to mock him. But all that did was fuel Young, as he led the Hawks to gentleman sweep the Knicks in just five games.
Trae Young appeared on this Friday's episode of WWE Smackdown, coming out to boos and jeers from the crowd. Trae was invited out by WWE star Sami Zayn, who is a villain in WWE. So clearly, both Trae and WWE understood that Young would make a perfect villain for fans in the Garden.
But that's not all. Trae even got physically involved, attacking WWE legend Rey Mysterio during a match. When the WWE referee caught him doing this, he ejected Trae from ringside, an act that made fans in the arena cheer extremely loudly.
Young is now the main antagonist for Knicks fans, and we will see how the reception to him will be during Hawks encounters against the Knicks. Even though the new NBA season is yet to start, Trae made his return to MSG and got an unfriendly reception from those in the Garden.
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