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Trae Young Cracks NBA MVP Ladder After 50-Point Night

By Dallin Duffy

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 10: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks points to the bench in the first half against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center on February 10, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 10: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks points to the bench in the first half against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center on February 10, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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Taking a look at the impact of Trae Young’s 50-point performance on Thursday.

Trae Young dropped a career-high 50 points on Thursday, helping the Hawks beat the Heat. The rest of the NBA world took notice, as just a day latter, he popped up on NBA.com’s weekly MVP ladder.

Granted Trae isn’t in the top-five or even the top-ten spots. Instead, he’s listed in the “And five more” category, essentially coming in at the 15th spot.

It’s the first ever appearance of Young on the ladder, who has put MVP-like numbers all season. He’s now averaging 30.1 points per game, passing last year’s MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in that field. Ice Trae is second in the league in both points and assists per game with 25 games left on the schedule.

In a vacuum, Trae is an sure MVP-candidate, but there’s no way he gets real consideration with his team’s record. Despite Young’s best efforts, the Hawks are 16-41 this season, and even though the MVP is an individual award, it never goes to a player on a tanking team. Some were even upset with Russell Westbrook winning the MVP in the 2016-2017 season, citing OKC’s lackluster 47-35 record. Even if the Hawks win out, they’re not sniffing 47 wins.

For Trae, just being mentioned as a candidate on a team like the Hawks is a honor, showing that his skills transcend the team’s record.

The placement on the list coming after last night’s game is not a surprise, as  in addition to his 50 points, he was easily the best player on the court that featured fellow MVP Ladder canidate Jimmy Butler.

He hit eight threes, crossed-over stout defenders and made his nightly three from the logo. It was the most MVP-worthy performance of his career — and the Hawks got the win.

Young has established himself as one of the league’s premier scorers, and continues to reign in his passing ability. Even on a more successful team, Young might have a hard time swaying MVP voters because of his porous defense, but offensive performances like last night outshine those downfalls.

It’s certainly nice to see the second year guard on the MVP latter, and officially cements him as one of the league’s best players.

Next. Player Grades From Hawks' cooling of Heat. dark

We’ll get to see how he follows up his 50-point night on Saturday, when the Hawks play the Mavericks in Atlanta.

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