Trevor Ariza is an accomplished NBA veteran with a reputation as a defensive stalwart—and he wasn't about to let a sophomore show him up.
Trae Young tried to nutmeg Ariza in the third quarter in Saturday's game in Atlanta, but the veteran Trail Blazers forward was having none of it. He checked Young into the first row rather than allow the ball between his legs, earning Ariza a flagrant-one foul.
Trae Young BLOWS by Trevor Ariza with a nutmeg and Ariza decides to shove him and get a flagrant. pic.twitter.com/xV0lCYDqYw
— Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) March 1, 2020
After Atlanta's 129-117 victory, Ariza had a stern message for the 21-year-old. “I told him, ‘Don’t do that shit again; not to me at least. I’ve never made an All-Defensive team or none of that shit, and he’s an All-Star, so he can be creative by ways to get around me. But all the, like, funnies? I’m not with the funnies. I don’t like the funnies.”
Ariza didn't cite any unwritten rulebook or NBA “code”, but seemed more upset with the perceived disrespect. Young downplayed the incident: “It was nothing. Competitiveness.” Young had 25 points and 15 assists.
Trae has already made a plethora of veterans look silly via nutmeg in his short career. Ariza was not about to be a nutmeg victim for the first time in his 16-year career. “I ain’t been nutmegged, period. I’ve been crossed over, I’ve been dunked on, there’s been a lot of shit. Those are basketball plays. But that’s … I mean, I guess it’s legal.”
Ariza called the whole thing, “not a big deal.”
Follow Us
Subscribe