NFL
By Monte Perez
On June 21, 2018, Trae Young was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks. He was traded to the Atlanta Hawks along with a protected future first-round pick in exchange for the rights to the third overall pick Luka Doncic. As a freshman at Oklahoma, Trae Young became the first player in Division I history to lead the nation in both scoring (27.4) and assists (8.8) since 1983.
In his first three seasons in the NBA young is putting up Hall of Fame Numbers.
- 2018: 19 points, 8.1 assists, and shot 82% from the free-throw line.
- 2019: 29.6 points, 9.3 assists, and shot 86% from the free-throw line.
- 2020: 25.3 points, 8.9 assists, and shot 88% from the free-throw line
Young is a leader of the Atlanta Hawks and plays better when the game is on the line against elite competition. This season Atlanta is 13-2 in games decided by 5 points or less. The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers were ranked top 5 in defense this season. In his first playoff appearance, Young is averaging 29 points, 9.9 assists, and shooting 86% from the charity stripe. To put that in perspective, here are a few NBA legend’s playoff series stats, early on in their careers.
John Stockton, 1985: 6.8 points and 4.3 assists.
Isaiah Thomas, 1981: 17 points and 7.8 assists.
Steven Nash, 2001: 13.6 points and 6.4 assists.
Kobe Bryant, 1997: 8.2 points and 1.2 assists.
Stephen Curry, 2013: 23.2 points and 8.1 assists.
Damian Lillard, 2014: 22.9 points, 6.5 assists.
The Atlanta Point Guard is doing all this at the tender age of 22. For some reason, Young and the Hawks have been overlooked all season long. They are still being overlooked in the playoffs. When the Hawks win, in the post-season, it is never about what the Hawks did to get the victory, it is always about what the Knicks, 76ers, or Bucks did not do.
Atlanta reminds me of a young Golden State Warriors with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson before they won a title. They are surrounded by shooters and a big man in Clint Capela who can defend and rebound. This team may not win the title this season, but, if I was buying stock in a team or player over the next five years it would be Trae and the Hawks.
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What a homer article
Facts don’t lie. His numbers dwarf legendary point guards in his first three years