April 17, 2026, 8:14 a.m. ET
Trae Young is a public enemy in New York City thanks to his playoff explosion back in 2021 with the Atlanta Hawks that eliminated the Knicks in five games.
Fast-forward to 2026. The Knicks will play the Young-less Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is already poking the bear.
Mamdani was asked about the ticket prices for the series and he had this to say: “I think first, I would say that I blame Trae Young, and I think it’s always important to blame Trae Young.”
Ouch. But Young had a perfect retort on X (formerly Twitter): “Remember what happened the last time the Mayor of that City had my name in his mouth during a time like this. #DontBlameMeWhenItHappensAgain”
What’s Young referring to here? That would be the time that then-mayor Bill de Blasio accused Young of hunting for fouls:
We’ll see if things are different this time around.