When Woj of ESPN announced that Team USA had issued 60 invitations to top players around the league, he did not go into any detail as to who they were. Tim Reynolds of Associated Press announced that Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young was one of the players who was included in the invitations.
Young has been one of the premier playmakers in the NBA since he debuted back in 2018. He was a member of the All-rookie team in 2018-19 and made the All-Star team in 2019-20, His rise to being one of the top point guards in the NBA has been meteoric.
While he has been suffering a loss of form at the start of the 2020-21 season, he is a magician with the ball and is starting to bounce back. The invitation to the Team USA camp is not unexpected and will do wonders for Young should he be selected.
How the Atlanta Hawks will benefit if Trae Young makes the team.
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There is going to be plenty of competition for the 15 spots on Team USE for the Olympics. There are always a number of good guards who are in line for selection so the competition for places will hopefully take Young’s game to another level.
Then there is the coach. Other players who have played for coach Gregg Popovich have seen a solid rise in production. Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics saw an increase in his points per game production of around 6.0 points. Just take a look at how his Boston Celtics have been going.
It is also a good time for Young to play with some of the best players in the NBA. If he makes the team and they win, it is a good recruiting ground for some of the better players to potentially come to the Hawks.
While this may seem like a long shot, look at the last two offseasons where players like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have joined forces. It is teams like this where players get to experience what it is like playing with other superstars.