He’s silencing doubters and doing what he does best: produce, create and innovate.
Trae Young’s comparisons to Golden State Warriors mad bomber Steph Curry were laughed off by members of the basketball community. There were some obvious similarities in their ability to shoot long range and also dish assists.
The questions surrounded Young’s ability to defend, shoot consistently and his ability to create his own shot with the same frequency he did in college. There was also some doubt as to whether or not the 6-2 guard with the wiry, undervalued frame could beat pro defenses with his style of play.
Just three games into the NBA season, he’s answering all of those questions. On Sunday, Young had a breakout game for the Atlanta Hawks in a 133-111 win over Cleveland.
SLAM on Twitter
35 points, 11 dimes and a convincing comeback win on the road. Welcome to the Trae Young show.
It was the type of performance he dropped almost every night for Oklahoma last season.
The Shadow League on Twitter
There’s Trae Young and there’s everyone else in college basketball. He’s playing on a whole other level. https://t.co/h33GlvJFEP
However, entering the draft, some scouts focused on a second half that saw his incredible numbers dip.
Via The Shadow League, “At the beginning of this college basketball season, Young was on fire. He was scoring a ton and taking shots unconsciously as his Oklahoma team seemed content watching the new breed of NBA jump shooters do his thing.
Then, Young kind of fizzled out like a dud firecracker as the season ended. He struggled with double and triple teams and his three-point percentage dipped to 36 percent. Those early comparisons to Steph Curry appeared to be premature hyperbole.”
Young’s Sunday night performance dismissed such talk. It was historic in that he joined Jason Kidd and Curry — the player that ushered in the current generation of three-point launchers led by Young — as the only rookies to ever post 35 and 10 with 6 threes.
NBA on Twitter
Trae Young (9 PTS) shows off the range! #NBARooks https://t.co/MbPGU2PbSQ
He’s shaking off the haters and doing what he does best: produce, create and innovate.
“I definitely hear everything people say but all I do is control what I can control,” Young told ESPN. “ That’s preparing every single day as hard as I can with and without them and preparing. My job is to have fun and play the game the right way and I’ve done that up until now and will continue to do it throughout my career.”
The Hawks are going to be god awful this season, but Young’s development and his ability to take over a game and the comparisons to basketball point GOD Steph Curry will be a storyline that keeps the Hawks somewhat relevant as they rebuild with young talent.
