Atlanta Hawks Young Guns and 2004-05 Phoenix Suns: Not So Different?
By Chris Guest
Trae Young = Steve Nash
Stylistically, this might be the easiest comparison to make. Though Trae Young was compared (wrongly) to Stephen Curry coming out of college due to his willingness to pull up from hear half-court with three-pointers, Trae’s feel and extraordinary passing ability is far closer to Steve Nash than Curry.
In the 2004-05 season, Nash produced an astonishing 11.5 assists per game and 861 total assists on a mammoth 49.2 assist rate. A crafty finisher and incredibly intelligent operator in the pick-and-roll, Nash was a prototype for the pick-and-roll-dominant point guards that have followed, though very few (if any) have had the slick mop of hair that Nash had in his heyday. Until now.
Not only does Trae Young’s unruly mass of curls remind coiffure connoisseurs of Nash’s floppy locks, but the way he plays is very much similar to Nash’s in terms of pick-and-roll operation and passing wizardry. Take a gander at Nash’s work during a crucial Western Conference Semifinals game at the tail end of the 04-05 season:
As a rookie, Ice Trae has already grown considerably before our eyes, and his gaudy assist numbers are amazing for any point guard – let alone a 20-year-old rookie. Let’s not forget, Nash was already 30 when he produced these staggering numbers in the 2004-05 season – a full 10 years older than Trae is now.
Just to reiterate numbers first mentioned in a recent piece that regards Trae Young as the offensive fulcrum that Atlanta needs, Young is 8th in the NBA in total assists (331), 10th in assists per game (7.2) and 9th in assist rate (37.1).
Sure, Trae must improve his outside shooting to match up with Nash’s amazing 43.1 percent clip from 04-05, but he is already attempting almost two and a half more threes per game than Nash was during this excellent run.
Just watching Trae play, however, should remind us of the tremendous feel that he has shown already in his young career. If he can continue to improve and his outside shot becomes more consistent, a stellar season like Nash’s 04-05 campaign is not out of the question – though an MVP award seems unlikely (but you never know!).