As the Atlanta Hawks host the New York Knicks Saturday, NBA legend Reggie Miller couldn't be more excited to see Trae Young antagonize the ‘Bockers.
For Miller, what Young did in making himself a villain for the Knicks and starting a rivalry between Atlanta and New York is exactly what the NBA is missing. With that, he couldn't be more proud of the young sharpshooter.
To recall, Young annoyed the hell out of Knicks fans during their first-round series in the 2021 playoffs. The antics of the Hawks star didn't sit well with a lot of supporters, who were passionately raring to see their team make a deep run in the postseason. It got even more frustrating for the ‘Bockers since Ice Trae walked the trash talk and lead his team to an easy win in the series.
“It was fun to watch. And going forward, it’s going to be a true rivalry now, because of Trae Young, between the Hawks and the Knicks,” Miller said of that playoff series, per New York Daily News
“To me, those are kind’ve what’s missing, the missing piece in the league. I love individual play, I love superstars, don’t get me wrong. But when you get cities that really don’t like one another, it just takes it up to another level like how we didn’t like the Knicks (when Miller was with the Pacers), like how the Lakers didn’t like Sacramento. Those things are fun to watch — when you got cities jumping into it as well as the players. So I applaud Trae.”
Sure enough, as the Hawks play the Knicks again, Reggie Miller will be all eyes on the showdown. However, for fans of both teams, Saturday's showdown is only a teaser for their Christmas Day game in the iconic Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks are struggling this season, with their offense seemingly failing to click. Nonetheless, they couldn't ask for a better motivation than facing Trae Young and the Hawks as they look to avenge their playoffs loss.
For Atlanta, meanwhile, it's an opportunity to extend their winning streak after winning their past seven games.
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