Exploring the stupendous performance Atlanta Hawks rookie point guard Trae Young put up late on Saturday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Atlanta Hawks have a stable of extremely exciting young players on the roster right now led by John Collins, Kevin Huerter and, of course, point guard Trae Young.
Though Ice Trae’s shooting has been up and down this season, he produced an extraordinary stat line against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night: 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting, 3 of 6 from downtown, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
In NBA history, Young is the only rookie to ever produce a performance of 30 points on better than 70 percent shooting from the field with over 5 three-point attempts and 8 or more assists. Let that sink in.
Though almost all of the rookie shine is going towards Luka Doncic, the player he was traded for, Trae, is also making memorable moments happen on a night-to-night basis with far less fanfare than the Slovenian sensation in Dallas.
If you keep all the same variables as above but lower the assists to 5, still only 6 players including Young have produced the feat: Donovan Mitchell, Tom Gugliotta, Jason Richardson, Shane Battier and Jamal Murray.
Change the variables slightly to include players that shot 50 percent or higher from three-point land and the list only goes to 11 players including Trae. It must be noted, however, that Young is the fourth-youngest to perform such a feat behind only 19-year-old Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and Gilbert Arenas, who were both roughly 75 days younger than Trae when they pulled off such a stat line.
It has already been stated that Trae Young is the offensive fulcrum that the Atlanta Hawks need going forward, and it’s good to see him produce a sterling stat line of this magnitude – especially on a night when he scores efficiently.
If he can continue to shoot well from the field (and especially from downtown), the Atlanta Hawks will be in good shape as a franchise.