Atlanta Hawks: Grading Trae Young’s role in the teams successful season

The Atlanta Hawks had an incredible run in the season just gone. They were expected to be a play-in team but rose to tremendous heights under coach Nate McMillan to qualify directly for the playoffs. While a lot of this credit goes to McMillan, and deservedly so, Trae Young showed that he is very coachable.

Young and McMillan appeared to have a bond that allowed the brilliant point guard to grow and blossom into a better player. He started making the right decision as to when to shoot and when to pass the ball, the team started playing so much better as well.

Young was one of the best players in the NBA all season long. It is a shame that he did not get to participate in his home All-Star game. This was one of many snubs this season that Young responded to and as a result, the narrative around him will keep changing as he continues to win.

The Atlanta Hawks were so much better with Trae Young on the floor.

The Hawks star was tremendous all season for the team. He averaged 25.3 points, 9.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.8 steals in 33.7 minutes per game. His assist average was the second-best in the league behind only Russell Westbrook. It was actually the second season in a row that Young has finished second in the league in this category.

The rest of young’s averages dipped this season but that was mainly due to the level of talent that the Hawks added in the offseason. This was where Young’s game improved this year, he did not have to be the star who did everything.

There were so many games that he barely scored in the first period because he was setting his teammates up. He would then bring the game home as a superstar should.