Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young’s Dad Talks Rookie of the Year Voting “Narrative”
By Chris Guest
A quick note on Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young’s father stirring up last year’s Rookie of the Year debate with a recent tweet.
Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks had a rookie season to remember in 2018-19, as he showcased a varied and immediately impactful offensive skill set that should make him a joy to behold for many years to come.
On the way to becoming the best rookie in Hawks franchise history, Young also put up some historic numbers, including an extremely memorable quadruple overtime game in which he logged 49 points, 16 assists and 8 rebounds in a bitter loss to the Chicago Bulls.
That stat line alone in a competitive game should’ve cemented Young’s place in his rookie class, and by the end of the year, it was clear that Ice Trae was in the top tier of rookies. Fast-forward to awards season and Young, along with his main competitor Luka Doncic, were the only two rookies to be named unanimously to the All-Rookie First Team.
Of course, Young had outplayed Doncic for the final few months of the season, but the Rookie of the Year race had long been decided. As such, Young only received two first-place votes for ROY – when both he and Doncic deserved to share the award as Co-Rookies of the Year.
Young’s father was clearly not pleased with the situation and echoed the sentiment of “media narrative” deciding awards that James Harden recently mentioned on a radio interview in Houston:
https://twitter.com/rayfordyoung/status/1164589567871205377?s=20
As you can see, Ray Young (Trae’s dad) doesn’t name names, but it’s quite clear just who he is speaking about.
Of course, this story gets fans of both sides involved, as Atlanta Hawks fans believe Young to be the “next great point guard” in the NBA, and Mavericks fans think Doncic is a generational unicorn that will rule the league for years to come.
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Who knows what the future holds for both players, but it will be fun to watch both duke it out for years to come. Perhaps they’ll meet in the NBA Finals one day!