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The Golden State Warriors have long featured perhaps the NBA’s most prolific trash talker in Draymond Green.
On Wednesday, May 26, Green shared a few props on in this regard after the Atlanta Hawks’ Trey Young spent two games trading verbal jabs with enthusiastic, and occasionally unruly, fans at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York.
Brings me great joy that the world can now see Trae is one of the biggest shit talkers in the league 😂😂😂😂
“Brings me great joy that the world can now see Trae is one of the biggest s*** talkers in the league,” Green wrote.
Young hit a game-winner over the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series, hushing the crowd with one finger to his lips immediately after plunging the dagger into their proverbial hearts.
TRAE. TOO CLUTCH. 🤯
To that point in the game, Knicks fans had poked and prodded Young with profanity-laced chants that echoed through the hallowed basketball cathedral that is MSG.
In the postgame interview with TNT, Young said he relished the adversarial relationship with Knicks fans, who are notorious for being tough on visiting opponents and made a lifelong rival out of Young overnight.
Knicks Fan Went Far Beyond Acceptable Trash Talk With Action Toward Young in Game 2
GettyAtlanta’s Trae Young reacts during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks on May 23, 2021 in New York City.
The back-and-forth between Young and the Knicks escalated in Game 2, with chants of “Trae Young’s balding!” throughout the evening, among others.
Young could occasionally be seen smiling or appearing to interact with fans sitting court-side, the most notorious of which is Academy Award-winning film director Spike Lee.
After the Knicks defeated the Hawks on the strength of a second-half comeback, Young exited the court while telling the fans “I’ll see you in the A,” meaning Atlanta for Game 3.
A little contentious and heated at times? Sure. But such exchanges add fuel to a series’ fire, invigorate fans and players alike, and make for more storylines between contests. That is all part of the sport, and a big part of what professional basketball was missing as the pandemic cleared out arenas nationwide for more than a year.
Unfortunately, an incident occurred on Wednesday night in New York that should never be part of the game under any circumstances.
A Knicks fan was caught on video spitting on Young’s back when he took the ball out of bounds on the sideline during the fourth quarter of Game 2. On the same night, a fan also threw popcorn at Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards as he left the court with an injury. Both videos can be seen in the tweet below.
@CrypticNoHoes I think a fan spit on @TheTraeYoung
The Knicks organization addressed the situation the following afternoon, before banning the fan in question from attending future games.
“We investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who is not a season ticket holder, did indeed spit on Trae Young, and for that reason, he is now banned from The Garden indefinitely,” the statement said. “We apologize to Trae and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization for this fan’s behavior. This was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our venue. We have turned the information over to the appropriate authorities.”
ESPN reported that Young has declined to press charges against the fan.
Green Had More to Say About Actions of Knicks Fans Toward Young
GettyDraymond Green reacts to a play in a game against the Charlotte Hornets.
Green, who never takes trash talking personally, had a lot to say about the actions of Knicks and Wizards fans Wednesday night.
Those comments indicated that individual teams, and the NBA as an organization, are not doing enough to stifle such fan behaviors.
A lot of “fans” keep crossing the line. That’s what happens when they’ve been enabled for years. For years they’ve come in these arenas and shouted whatever they’ve wanted to the players. The very moment players has responded…. Well, we all know how it’s ended for the us Smh
“A lot of ‘fans’ keep crossing the line. That’s what happens when they’ve been enabled for years,” Green wrote on Twitter Thursday morning. “For years, they’ve come in these arenas and shouted whatever they’ve wanted to the players. The very moment players (have) responded … well, we know how it’s ended for us.”