NEW YORK -- When Trae Young had cemented his status as New York Knicks fan villain No. 1, the point guard's father, Rayford, was sitting at Madison Square Garden absorbing the F-bombs.
Rayford had never before heard a crowd unanimously target a player with such profanity, and the chants were in the presence of Rayford's youngest son, who is also Trae's 11-year-old brother and was seated next to his father.
Still, Rayford wasn't upset -- just fired up -- and remained confident Trae would respond positively to the vitriol. He watched his son rise to elite with a chip firmly attached to his shoulder, always feeling underestimated because Trae never carried the look of a basketball star.
"Trae, growing up, he's always been one of the smallest. He never walked into a gym and people were like, 'I want to pick that guy,' " Rayford said. "So when you grow up always having to prove yourself, once you get to this level it's just second nature.
"Even though he's in the NBA right now, he's an All-Star, he's a top-5 pick. It still feels like he has to prove himself. Which, for me, as a dad, sometimes I feel unfortunate for him, and I just tell him you don't have to prove anything to anybody. But he's not built that way. He was the same way in high school. He's always breaking barriers himself because he just doesn't pass the eye test."
In other words, Trae Young has no problem being the villain.
"He loves it. There's no sensitive bone in his body when it comes to that," Rayford said.
Rayford, an All-Big 12 selection with Texas Tech in the late '90s, warned that making an enemy of his son was a mistake. The scene Sunday was reminiscent of the "Reggie Sucks" chants that filled MSG before Reggie Miller ripped out hearts.
"When they did it to Reggie Miller, Reggie Miller was in his prime. He was 28, 29 years old," Rayford said. "They're going to have to see Trae [22 years old] for the next 10 or 15 years. He hasn't hit his grown man weight yet. He hasn't got his grown man strength yet. This is only the beginning. He should be a senior in college right now."
Not long after Young's game-winner, celebrity Knicks fan Ben Stiller encouraged the crowd to remain diligent in a social media post concerning the Hawks point guard. Mayor Bill de Blasio then interrupted his media briefing Tuesday to insult Trae's playing style and issue a warning. These are powerful men, both over 55 years old, setting the tone.
"I want to get this out to Trae Young," de Blasio said. "On behalf of everyone in New York City and anyone who cares about playing basketball the right way: Stop hunting for fouls, Trae. That Hawk's not going to fly in New York City.
"C'mon. Play the game the right way. See if you can win. I think the Knicks are going to teach you a lesson."
De Blasio was referencing Young's tendency to draw fouls while either initiating or exaggerating contact. It's a strategy hardly unique to Young, but he's among the NBA's biggest culprits after leading all guards in free throws this season.
It came into focus after Young took all nine free throws in the fourth quarter of Atlanta's Game 1 victory. Tom Thibodeau said inconsistent officiating was an issue.
"Refereeing is a tough job, but it seemed like it was different in the fourth quarter," the Knicks coach said. "You don't want to see that."
Young didn't need a whistle to score the biggest bucket of his NBA career Sunday, when he crossed up Frank Ntilikina and drove for the game-winning floater with a second remaining. Rayford's celebration in the Garden stands was caught on video and went viral.
"For me -- and I know it's the same thing with Trae -- [the F-bomb chants] just gave me a burst of energy and a burst of emotion," Rayford said. "It was just like go out and kill these dudes, man. Just growing up, the way my dad taught me and I taught Trae, if somebody disrespects you, just show them disrespect back.
"I wanted so bad for them to win that game that I even got emotional just hearing it."