Atlanta Hawks: Comparing Rookie Trae Young & Kevin Huerter to Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson
By Chris Guest
Trae Young & Stephen Curry
As has been stated before, Young started off a tad slowly last season before rounding into form as the season progressed – even going so far as to be lauded as the greatest rookie in Atlanta Hawks franchise history.
How do their numbers compare following their respective rookie seasons? Let’s take a look at Curry’s rookie year (2009-10) compared to Young’s,
Per Basketball Reference, Young best Steph in points per game (19.1), assists per game (8.1), and most volume-based stats (field goal attempts, three-point attempts, etc.).
Young also produced a higher player efficiency rating (a flawed stat, to be sure) and tied Curry’s 1.8 offensive box plus/minus in their first respective seasons.
It also must be noted that Young produced more scoring on a per-game basis than Curry did while playing more than 5 minutes less per game than Curry did during the 2009-10 season (36.2 minutes per game for Steph vs. 30.9 minutes per game for Trae). Coaches and players weren’t as focused on rest and “load management” as they are in today’s NBA, so Young’s impressive scoring output in less minutes should be celebrated.
Of course, Young was also not as efficient as Curry was scoring the ball in their respective rookie years.
Curry’s rookie season came ready-made with his trademark flawless three-ball, and Young’s jumper never truly came around – despite a ton of hype surrounding it during the pre-draft process. Steph shot a remarkable 43.7 percent from deep in his rookie year, while Young toiled away with a final mark of 32.4 percent from downtown.
However, the two players shot nearly identically from two-point range with nearly identical per-game attempts from two: Curry shot 47.4 percent on 9.5 two-pointers per game while Young shot 47.7 percent on 9.6 twos per game.