​Mar. 16, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Trae Young (3) looks on during first-half action against the Golden State Warriors at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images.
Trae Young has never needed much prompting to stir up New York Knicks fans, and his latest appearance in New York City added another chapter to one of the NBA’s most entertaining modern rivalries. During Fanatics Fest over the weekend, Young once again leaned into his long-running feud with the Knicks fan base, creating a viral moment that quickly spread across social media.
Video from the Fanatics Fest event showed Young on the convention floor with a Jalen Brunson New York Knicks jersey. In the clip, the Washington Wizards guard appeared to try to tear the jersey in front of fans, drawing loud boos and immediate backlash from many in attendance. The reaction was not surprising, especially considering Brunson and several Knicks players were also part of the weekend’s festivities, making the moment even more pointed.
The Trae Young-Knicks rivalry has been fueled by years of postseason drama, hostile crowds and memorable on-court theatrics. Young, now with the Washington Wizards after being traded from the Atlanta Hawks, remains one of the most disliked opposing players among Knicks fans. His history at Madison Square Garden has made him a natural villain in New York, and this latest Fanatics Fest incident only added more fuel to the fire.
Knicks fans wasted little time reacting online. One fan on X, posting under the name “Colebear,” ripped Young for continuing to reference his past playoff success against New York. The fan wrote that Young’s reputation with Knicks fans is still tied to the 2021 playoff series against a Knicks team led by Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton, calling the guard a “cornball” and a “joke.”
Other accounts also weighed in on the moment. WizardsMuse, a fan page dedicated to Washington basketball, posted that “the Trae vs Knicks beef is heating up,” pointing to the renewed anticipation around future matchups between the Wizards and Knicks. With Young now playing in the Eastern Conference for Washington, meetings between the two teams in the 2026-27 NBA season are likely to carry even more energy.
Legion Hoops also shared the viral clip, writing that Young showed up to Fanatics Fest with a Jalen Brunson jersey and attempted to rip it. The account joked about the moment, noting that Young appeared to struggle while trying to tear the jersey apart. Another X user criticized Young for continuing to live off the 2021 playoff series, arguing that the Knicks have since moved on to bigger goals while Young’s former team, the Hawks, eventually moved on from him.
The roots of the rivalry go back to the 2021 Eastern Conference first round, when Young and the Hawks eliminated the Knicks in five games. In Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, Young hit a game-winning floater and famously shushed the crowd. He then closed the series in Game 5 by hitting a late three-pointer and bowing at center stage, instantly cementing himself as one of the biggest villains in recent Knicks history.
Young backed up the theatrics with elite production in that series, averaging 29.2 points and 9.8 assists as Atlanta advanced. Knicks fans responded with intense hostility throughout the matchup, and the tension reached an ugly point in Game 2 when a fan spat on Young during the fourth quarter. That fan was later banned indefinitely from Madison Square Garden.
The feud did not end with that playoff series. In November 2024, Young again taunted Knicks fans after Atlanta defeated New York, telling them to watch the Hawks close out the win before directing them to go home. One month later, after the Hawks knocked the Knicks out of the NBA Cup quarterfinals, Young mimicked rolling dice and tossed them onto the Knicks’ midcourt logo, creating another viral moment.
Even after his move from Atlanta to Washington, the animosity has followed him. Knicks fans have continued to chant at Young during games at Madison Square Garden, even in moments when he was not directly involved in the action. His presence alone remains enough to spark a reaction from the New York crowd.
Given that long history, Young’s decision to target a Jalen Brunson Knicks jersey at Fanatics Fest felt like a calculated attempt to keep the rivalry alive. Brunson has become the face of the Knicks and one of the most beloved players in New York, so using his jersey as part of the stunt made the moment even more personal for Knicks fans.
With Trae Young now playing for the Washington Wizards, the next Wizards-Knicks matchup already has added intrigue. What might have been a normal regular-season game now carries another storyline, and Madison Square Garden is almost certain to welcome Young with the same hostility he has heard for years. For Knicks fans, he remains a villain. For Young, that role appears to be one he is more than willing to embrace.