Trae Young has never needed much of an invitation to get under the skin of New York Knicks fans, and this weekend in NYC was no exception. What he did on the Fanatics Fest floor gave the rivalry a fresh moment to talk about. It did not take long for the crowd around him to make their feelings known.
Trae Young Reignites Knicks Beef
Video circulating from Fanatics Fest event this weekend shows Young tearing a Jalen Brunson Knicks jersey apart in front of fans on the convention floor. The moment drew a hostile reaction from the crowd immediately, many of whom had come out to see Brunson and his Knicks teammates that same weekend.
‘Colebear,’ a Knicks fan on X, slammed Young. “This guy is the biggest cornball loser ever. His whole career is based off of beating Elfrid Payton and Julius Randle in a playoff series. [Trae Young] you are the biggest joke ever.”
This guy is the biggest cornball loser ever. His whole career is based off of beating Elfrid Payton and Julius Randle in a playoff series. @TheTraeYoung you are the biggest joke ever 🤡🤡
— colebear (@CBrigucci) July 18, 2026
WizardsMuse, a fan page of the franchise, wrote, “THE TRAE VS KNICKS BEEF IS HEATING UP.” There is certainly more anticipation for the upcoming 2026-27 season clash between the Wizards and the Knicks, now that Young is in DC.
Trae Young pulled up to Fanatics Fest with a Jalen Brunson jersey, which he tried to rip, but couldn’t.
Hilarious. pic.twitter.com/Yl2YX0zKY8
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 18, 2026
Legion Hoops wrote, “Trae Young pulled up to Fanatics Fest with a Jalen Brunson jersey, which he tried to rip, but couldn’t. Hilarious.”
Another X user wrote, “Bro still living off of a playoff series from 5 years ago against the Knicks while they’ve moved onto bigger and better things while the team Trae was on moved on from him.”
It traces to the 2021 Eastern Conference first round, when Young, then with the Atlanta Hawks, hit a game-winning floater in Game 1 and shushed the hostile Madison Square Garden crowd, then closed out the series in Game 5 with a bow after a three-pointer.
New York fans responded with the kind of hostility reserved for the league’s most effective villains. In Game 2 of that series, a fan spat on Young during the fourth quarter, resulting in an indefinite ban from the arena. Young went on to average 29.2 points and 9.8 assists in the series as the Hawks eliminated the Knicks in five games.
In November 2024, Young told Knicks fans in Atlanta to watch the Hawks close out a home win over New York before telling them, “Take your [expletive] home.” A month later, he mimed rolling dice and threw them onto the Knicks’ midcourt logo after Atlanta knocked New York out of the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Even after being traded from the Hawks to the Washington Wizards this past January, the chants have followed him into road games at Madison Square Garden, with Knicks fans breaking into hostile chants directed his way even when he was not on the floor.
Given that track record, tearing apart a Brunson jersey in front of a crowd full of Knicks supporters fits squarely into the pattern Young has built over the last several years.
The moment is sure to add another chapter to one of the league’s more entertaining rivalries, especially with the Wizards still scheduled to face the defending champion Knicks on the schedule ahead.
