IIt’s not a happy holiday for Trae Young, who is scheduled to face the New York Knicks on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Atlanta Hawks star isn’t exactly upset about the assignment… MLK Day is one of the NBA’s designated holidays… but rather the location. Young’s Hawks are scheduled to play the Knicks in the NBA’s seven-game schedule on Jan. 20 at Madison Square Garden instead of State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and he’s not too happy about it, according to a recent post on X.
“MLK is disappointed in you all, @NBA,” Young said. “I’m sorry, Atlanta.”
The full slate of games for the 2024-25 season was released Thursday and is set to begin Oct. 22, when the Knicks travel to Boston.
Young cited the NBA’s announcement of the national television schedule for MLK Day, which features the Dallas Mavericks facing the Charlotte Hornets on NBA TV before a TNT doubleheader featuring a showdown between Minnesota and Memphis before things wrap up with a 2022 NBA Finals rematch between Boston and Golden State.
While the Hawks don’t have a hometown on the day the civil rights leader is honored (much like the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys do for the NFL’s Thanksgiving celebrations), the Hawks have had a hometown holiday in recent seasons. The holiday has special significance for the city, as King was born and raised in Atlanta, where he lived until he was 12. In that spirit, the Hawks often hosted a game at their stadium and even introduced an alternate jersey with the Kings’ initials in 2020.
Young, best known for his playoff performance in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, will look to shake off some bad karma against the Knicks on Jan. 21, as his teams are 5-14 against the Knicks in the regular season. The Knicks face the Hawks four times this season, starting with a Nov. 6 game in Atlanta.
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