Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young Back on Track After Shaky Shooting Streak

A look at the season so far for Atlanta Hawks rookie point guard Trae Young and how he’s right on track after a tough start.

The Atlanta Hawks are currently holders of the 5th-worst record in the NBA, ahead of only the Cavaliers, Suns, Bulls and Knicks. Though Hawks fans the world over are looking ahead to the NBA Draft odds, it’s also pertinent to pay attention to the young core pieces that are giving it their all on a night-to-night basis.

Though John Collins has rocketed into elite company on the back of his stunning second season and Kevin Huerter (or Red Pepper, if you prefer) is also evincing some impressive skills every night, most eyes from Hawks fans (and NBA fans at large) are focused on rookie point guard Trae Young.

And with good reason. Ice Trae’s passing and threat of pulling up from way downtown make him must-watch television when he’s in the game for the Hawks, and teams are focusing a lot of their defensive schemes on attempting to stop Young with double and triple-teams during the course of games.

Even with all that attention on him, Young has been able to carve up opposing defenses with relative ease, and his passing numbers are on par with some of the best passers in the game currently – let alone among his rookie brethren.

Young is second among rookies in double-doubles with 12 (only behind Deandre Ayton’s robust 24). Ice Trae is first among rookies in assists per game with 7.5, and that total is tied for 7th in the NBA with Nikola Jokic and De’Aaron Fox. Beyond that, his assist percentage of 39.3 is 6th in the entire league. Trae has produced a startling total of 285 assists, which also places him 7th overall in the league – ahead of luminaries such as LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving.

The main problem for Trae, however, has not been his passing, but rather his shooting. Though he’s shooting 50 percent over his last 10 games according to NBA.com on fewer attempts per game, if Young can continue shooting a similar volume to his current season average (4.9) with solid efficiency, the Atlanta Hawks will have a truly generational player on their hands.

According to Basketball Reference, only one player has produced similar numbers to Trae in their rookie season of 4.5 three-point attempts per game, 4 free throw attempts per game, 7.5 assists per game to go along with 15 points per game. That player was Damon Stoudamire in his Rookie of the Year campaign with the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96.

Though Luka Doncic likely has the ROY race this season locked up already, if Ice Trae can continue to put up these numbers with better shooting efficiency, he will be in the driver’s seat for a First Team All-Rookie spot.