Young defends nutmegging: 'It's entertainment'

Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young doesn't intend on eliminating nutmegs from his game, even if it's rubbing certain players the wrong way.

"That's something I do. It's not to showboat. It's flair. It's excitement. It's basketball. It's entertainment," Young said, according to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner and Omari Sankofa II.

"It ain't gotta be serious 24-7," he continued. "You can smile. You can have fun. You can engage with the crowd. You can flex. You can do whatever you want and have fun with it. That's my point of (view) on it."

Portland Trail Blazers forward Trevor Ariza criticized Young for his attempted nutmeg against him Saturday following the Hawks' 129-117 win. The veteran responded to the trickery by shoving the sophomore guard, which earned Ariza a technical foul.

However, the Hawks floor general believes Ariza's frustration actually stemmed from Young's bucket on the previous possession.

"He was frustrated on the play before. That's what caused (Ariza), in my opinion, to really do that when I threw it between his legs," Young said.

"If you watch the play before, I got a floater," he added. "He said something coming back down the floor, got mad, and that was part of my excitement. When I came back down, I knew what I was about to do right before. So, I threw it between his legs, and I knew he was kind of frustrated. It's part of basketball."

Young is averaging 29.6 points and 9.3 assists through 57 games this season.